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BIOLOGY 
LIBRARY 


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L'l  NCON  NU 


THE     UNKNOWN 


CAMILLE    FLAMMARION 


NEW  YORK  AND   LONDON 
HARPER    «&    BROTHERS    PUBLISHERS 
1902 


F5-2 


aiOLOGy 

LiBRARr 


Copyright,  1900,  by  Camillh  Flammarion, 

All  rights  reserved. 


CONTENTS 


PAOK 

Introduction v 

CHAPTER 

I.  On  Incredulity 1 

II.  On  Credulity 22 

III.  Op  Telepathic  Communications  Made  by  the  Dying, 

AND  OP  Apparitions 43 

IV.  Admission  op  Facts 183 

V.  Hallucinations,  Properly  So  Called 207 

VI.  The  Psychic  Action  op  One  Mind  Upon  Another. — 
Transmission  op  Thought. — Mental  Suggestion. — 
Communications  From  a  Distance  Between  Human 

Beings 228 

VII.  The  World  op  Dreams.— Infinite  Variety  op  Dreams. 
—Cerebral  Physiology.— Psychic  Dreajis:  Mani- 
festations   OP   THE    Dying    Experienced   During 

Sleep. — Telepathy  in  Dreams 310 

VIII.  Distant  Sight  in  Dreams.— Actual  Facts 377 

IX.  Premonitory  Dreams  and  Divination  op  the  Future    423 

Conclusion 477 


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INTRODUCTION 


The  universal  and  constant  aspirations  of  all  thinking 
human  beings,  the  reverence  and  affectionate  remembrance  in 
which  we  hold  the  memory  of  our  dead,  the  innate  idea  of  a 
Day  of  Judgment,  the  feelings  inherent  in  our  consciousness, 
and  in  our  intellect,  the  miserable  incoherence  between  the 
destinies  of  men  on  earth  compared  with  the  mathematical 
order  which  regulates  the  universe,  the  bewildering  impres- 
sion we  receive  of  the  infinite  and  the  eternal  as  we  gaze  into 
the  starry  heavens,  and  beneath  all  this  our  certainty  of  the 
permanent  identity  of  onr  I  (our  own  individual  existence) 
notwithstanding  perpetual  changes  in  our  bodies  and  our 
brains — all  conspire  to  create  in  us  a  conviction  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  soul  as  an  individual  entity  which  will  survive 
the  destruction  of  our  corporeal  organism,  and  which  must 
be  immortal. 

However  this  may  be,  scientific  demonstration  of  all  this 
has  not  as  yet  been  made,  and  physiologists  teach  us,  on  the 
contrary,  that  thought  is  a  function  of  the  brain  ;  that  with- 
out a  brain  there  is  no  thought,  and  that  all  dies  when 
we  die.  In  this  there  is  disagreement  between  the  ideal 
aspirations  of  human  nature  and  what  we  call  positive 
science. 

On  the  other  side,  we  do  not  know,  we  cannot  affirm  any- 
thing but  what  we  have  learned,  and  we  cannot  know  anything 
until  we  have  learned  it.  Science  alone  makes  steady  prog- 
ress in  the  present  history  of  mankind.  It  is  science  which 
has  transformed  the  world,  though  we  rarely  render  her  the 
justice  and  the  gratitude  that  are  her  due.     It  is  through 


i^TKUl>UCT10N 

her  that  we  live  intellectually,  and  even  materially,  at  the 
present  day.     She  alone  can  guide  us  and  enlighten  us. 

This  work  is  an  attempt  to  analyze  scientifically  subjects 
commonly  held  to  have  no  connection  with  science,  whicli 
are  even  accounted  uncertain,  fabulous,  and  more  or  less 
imaginary. 

I  am  about  to  demonstrate  that  such  facts  exists.  I  am  about 
to  attempt  to  apply  the  same  scientific  methods  employed  in 
other  sciences  to  the  observation,  verification,  and  analysis 
of  phenomena  commonly  thrown  aside  as  belonging  to  the 
land  of  dreams,  the  domain  of  the  marvellous,  or  the  super- 
natural, and  to  establish  that  they  are  produced  by  forces 
still  unknown  to  us,  which  belong  to  an  invisible  and  natu- 
ral world,  different  from  the  one  we  know  through  our  own 
senses. 

Is  this  attempt  rational  ?  Is  it  logical  ?  Can  it  lead  to  re- 
sults ?  I  do  not  know.  But  I  do  know  that  it  is  interesting. 
And  if  it  helps  us  to  know  something  of  the  nature  of  the 
human  soul,  and  affords  us  scientific  demonstration  of  its 
survival,  it  will  give  humanity  a  progress  superior  to  any  she 
has  yet  received  by  the  gradual  evolution  of  all  the  other 
sciences  put  together. 

Human  reason  can  only  admit  what  has  been  demonstrated 
to  be  absolute  certainty.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  no 
right  to  reject  or  deny  anything  in  advance,  for  the  testi- 
mony of  our  own  senses  is  incomplete  and  misleading. 

We  ought  to  take  up  any  study  with  an  unprejudiced 
mind ;  we  ought  to  be  ready  to  admit  what  has  been  proved, 
but  not  to  admit  much  that  may  be  proved  hereafter.  In  gen- 
eral, in  the  cases  of  subjects  connected  with  telepathy,  such 
as  apparitions,  second-sight,  mental  suggestion,  premonitory 
dreams,  magnetism,  psychical  manifestations,  hypnotism,  spir- 
itualism, and  certain  religious  beliefs,  it  is  marvellous  to  see 
how  small  a  part  enlightened  criticism  has  played  in  the  ac- 
ceptance of  facts,  and  what  an  incoherent  mass  of  foolishness 
has  been  accumulated  under  the  name  of  truth.  But  is  the 
method  of  scientific  observance  applicable  to  such  subjects  ? 
This  is  what  it  is  our  object  to  demonstrate  by  these  researches. 

vi 


INTRODUCTION 

We  should  believe^nothing  without  proofs  There  are  only- 
two  scientific  methods  in  this  world.  One  is  the  old  scholas- 
tic method  which  affirmed  certain  truths  d  priori,  to  which 
facts  were  afterward  expected  to  conform  ;  and  that  of  mod- 
ern science  since  the  time  of  Bacon,  which  starts  by  observ- 
ing facts  and  does  not  formulate  a  theory  until  it  has  estab- 
lished them.  Needless  to  say,  it  is  the  second  of  these 
methods  that  is  here  adopted. 

The  framework  of  this  book  is  essentially  scientific.  I 
shall  put  aside,  in  principle,  all  things  that  appear  to  me  not 
to  have  been  clearly  certified  either  by  experience  or  obser- 
vation. 

Many  people  say,  "  What  is  the  use  of  seeking  ?  You  will 
find  nothing.  Such  things  are  God's  secrets,  which  He 
keeps  to  Himself."  There  always  have  been  people  who 
liked  ignorance  better  than  knowledge.  By  this  kind  of 
reasoning  (had  men  acted  upon  it)  nothing  would  ever  have 
been  known  in  this  world,  and  more  than  once  it  has  been  ap- 
plied to  astronomical  researches.  It  is  the  mode  of  reason- 
ing adopted  by  those  who  do  not  care  to  think  for  themselves, 
and  who  confide  to  directors  (so-called)  the  charge  of  con- 
trolling their  consciences. 

Other  people  may  object  that  these  chapters  on  the  occult 
sciences  are  making  our  knowledge  retrograde  into  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  instead  of  advancing  towards  the  bright  light  of 
the  future,  foreshadowed  by  modern  progress.  Well,  then ! 
I  say  that  a  careful  study  of  these  facts  can  no  more  trans- 
port us  back  to  the  days  of  sorcery,  than  the  study  of  astron- 
omy can  lead  us  back  to  the  times  of  astrology. 

As  I  began  this  work,  my  eyes  fell  on  the  preface  of  a  book 
by  Count  Agenor  de  Gasparin,  on  Table-turning  {Les  tables 
tournantes),  and  there  I  read  what  follows  : 

"There  is  one  thing — an  important  thing — which  ought  to  be  made 
clear  from  the  first,  the  subject  of  my  work  is  not  serious.  In  other 
words,  I  would  say  to  my  readers  :  It  is  no  object  with  me  to  prove  that 
you  are  right,  or  that  you  are  wrong,  what  I  want  is  the  truth,  of  which 
you  seem  to  consider  yourselves  the  defenders.  We  are  not  concerned 
with  truths  authorized  and  breveted,  truths  that  a  man  can  concern  him- 


INTRODUCTION 

self  with  and  yet  reraaia  uncompromised,  truths  that  can  be  avowed, 
serious,  accepted  truths.  There  are  absurd  truths— so  much  the  worse  for 
them!  Their  turn  will  come,  perchance,  and  then  people  who  respect 
themselves  may  take  them  under  their  protection,  but  meantime,  so  long 
as  certain  people  frown,  so  long  as  good  society  laughs,  it  would  be  in 
bad  taste  to  run  counter  to  public  opinion.  Don't  talk  to  us  of  the 
truth  1  We  must  consider  the  proprieties,  and  how  to  comport  ourselves ; 
our  business  is  to  walk  in  the  same  track  with  serious  men,  who  march  in 
file  one  after  the  other." 


These  words,  written  nearly  half  a  century  ago,  are  true 
still.  Poor  human  beings,  so  ignorant  of  most  things,  whose 
time  passes  for  the  most  part  so  stupidly  here,  have  in  their 
ranks  persons  who  take  themselves  very  seriously,  and  pass 
judgment  upon  men  and  things.  There  is  but  one  thing  to 
be  done  when  one  takes  up  any  question,  and  that  is,  not  to 
concern  ourselves  with  such  individuals  ;  to  disregard  their 
opinions,  whether  private  or  public,  and  to  go  straight  for- 
ward in  our  search  for  truth.  Mankind  is  composed  three 
parts  of  beings  incapable  of  comprehending  such  research, 
and  incapable  of  thinking  for  themselves.  We  may  leave 
them  to  their  superficial  judgments,  which  are  valueless  in 
themselves. 

I  have  long  been  occupied  with  these  questions  in  such 
hours  of  leisure  as  were  left  me  by  my  astronomical  labors. 
My  old  card  of  membership  in  the  Society  of  Paris  for  the 
Study  of  Spiritualism,  signed  by  Alan  Kardee,  fell  under  my 
eyes  as  I  was  writing  this  a  few  moments  ago.  It  is  dated 
November  15,  1861  (I  was  then  nineteen,  and  for  three  years 
I  had  been  a  pupil  in  astronomy  at  the  Paris  Observatory). 
For  more  than  a  third  of  a  century  I  have  kept  in  touch  with 
most  of  the  phenomena  observed  throughout  the  entire  world. 
It  is  probably  because  of  my  long  personal  experience  in  such 
subjects  that  I  have  been  so  earnestly  requested  to  publish 
this  work. 

But  I  have  always  hesitated.     Had  the  time  really  come  ? 
Was  the  way  fully  prepared  ?     Was  the  fruit  ripe  ?     One  can 
^t  begin,  of  course.     Future  ages  will  develop  the  seed. 
'    This  is  a  book  of  studies^  conceived  and  executed  with  the 


INTRODUCTION 

sole  purpose  of  knowing  the  truth,  without  any  prejudice  in 
favor  of  received  ideas,  with  the  most  compTele  TiTJependence 
"of^ind  and  the   most  absolute   indifference  as  to  public 


jopinion. 


it  must,  however,  be  owned  that  work  of  this  kind  is  inter- 
esting— passionately  interesting — to  the  writer  while  search- 
ing for  truths  unacknowledged  or  unknown,  but  it  is,  from 
the  point  of  view  of  public  opinion,  labor  without  reward. 
Everybody,  or  almost  everybody,  has  a  poor  opinion  of  those 
who  undertake  it.  Men  of  science  think  it  is  not  a  scientific 
subject,  and  that  it  is  a  pity  to  waste  time  over  it.  Other 
persons,  who  believe  blindly  in  spiritual  communications, 
dreams,  presentiments,  and  apparitions,  think  it  is  useless  to 
carry  a  critical  spirit  of  analysis  and  examination  into  an  in- 
quiry about  such  things.  We  must  own,  too,  that  the  sub- 
ject is  both  vague  and  obscure,  and  that  we  shall  have  much 
difficulty  in  casting  a  bright  light  upon  it.  But  if  this  work 
succeeds  in  placing  but  one  little  stone  in  the  edifice  of  hu- 

ran  knowledge,  I  shall  be  glad  that  I  have  undertaken  it. 
The  hardest  thing,  perhaps,for  a  man,  is  to  be  independent ; 
'to^  say  what  he  thinks  and  what  he  knows,  without  caring 
about  the  opinion  others  may  have  of  him.  To  put  in  prac- 
tice the  noble  motto  of  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau  only  makes 
enemies  ;  for,  after  all,  the  human  race  is  rude,  savage,  igno- 
rant, cowardly,  and  hypocritical.  Beings  who  live  under  the 
influence  of  their  minds  and  hearts  are  exceptional. 

Perhaps  the  most  singular  thing  of  all  is  that  a  free  inquiry 
into  truth  seems  disagreeable  to  every  one ;  for  each  brain  has 
its  little  secrets,  which  it  does  not  wish  to  have  disturbed. 

If,  for  example,  I  say  that  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  al- 
ready demonstrated  by  philosophy,  will  be  speedily  proved  by 
psychic  sciences,  more  than  one  sceptic  will  smile  at  my  asser- 
tion. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  I  say  that  the  spiritualist  who  calls 
up  on  his  table  Newton,  Archimedes,  or  St.  Augustine,  and 
who  imagines  himself  to  have  been  talking  with  them,  is  the 
dupe  of  an  illusion,  there  is  a  whole  sect  ready  to  pick  up  big 
stones  to  fling  at  me. 

ix 


INTRODUCTION 

Bat,  again,  let  us  not  concern  ourselves  with  such  different 

opinions. 

''  What  can  these  studies  concerning  psychical  problems 
lead  to,  after  all  ?"  says  some  one. 

We  answer  :  ''They  tend  to  show  that  the  soul  exists  and 
that  our  hopes  of  immortality  are  not  chimeras." 

''Materialism"  is  an  hypothesis  which  cannot  be  sustained, 
now  that  we  know  more  about  "matter."  It  does  not  afford 
us  the  solid  point  d'appui  it  was  once  supposed  to  do.  Bodies 
are  composed  of  millions  of  millions  of  mobile  atoms,  which 
do  not  even  touch  one  another,  and  are  in  perpetual  move- 
ment round  each  other:  these  infinitely  minute  atoms  are 
now  considered  centres  of  force.  Where,  then,  is  matter  ? 
It  disappeared  under  dynamism. 

An  intellectual  law  controls  the  universe  in  which  our 
planet  holds  a  humble  place.  Such  is  the  law  of  progress. 
I  showed  in  my  work  Le  Monde  avant  la  Creation  de  V Homme 
that  the  evolution  of  Lamarck  and  Darwin  is  only  a  recog- 
nition of  facts,  and  not  a  cause  (the  product  can  never  be 
superior  to  what  generates  it),  and  in  my  work  La  Fin  du 
Monde  I  also  showed  that  nothing  can  end,  since  all  that 
had  existence  in  past  eternity  exists  still. 

The  law  of  progress  which  regulates  all  life,  the  physical 
organism  of  this  life  itself,  the  instinctive  foresight  of  plants, 
insects,  birds,  etc.,  to  assure  the  propagation  of  these  species, 
and  an  examination  of  the  principal  facts  in  natural  history 
will  result,  as  Oersted  has  told  us,  in  convincing  us  that  there 
is  a  spirit  in  nature. 

The  current  of  our  daily  life  shows  us  no  power  of  thought 
except  in  the  brains  of  men  and  animals.  Thence  physiologists 
have  concluded  that  thought  is  a  product  of  the  brain.  And 
we  are  told  that  without  brain  there  is  no  thought, 

Now  nothing  authorizes  us  to  think  that  the  sphere  of  our 
observations  is  universal — that  it  comprises  all  the  possibili- 
ties of  nature  in  all  other  worlds. 

No  one  has  a  right  to  insist  that  there  can  be  no  thought 
without  a  brain. 

If  one  or  another  of  the  millions  of  microbes  that  inhabit 


INTRODUCTION 

each  of  our  bodies  was  trying  to  generalize  his  impressions, 
conld  he  suspect,  as  he  floated  in  the  blood  of  our  veins  or 
our  arteries,  or  devoured  our  muscles,  or  made  his  way  into 
our  bones,  or  travelled  through  all  parts  of  our  system  from 
head  to  foot,  that  this  body,  like  his  own,  was  regulated  by  an 
organic  unity  ? 
Such  is  really  our  relation  to  the  planetary  universe. 
The  sun — the  great  heart  of  his  system  and  source  of  life — 
shines  on  the  orbits  of  the  planets,  and  he  himself  moves  in  a 
sidereal  system  that  is  vaster  still.     We  have  no  right  to  deny 
that  thought  can  exist  in  space,  and  that  it  directs  the  move- 
ments of  vast  bodies,  as  we  direct  those  of  our  arms  or  legs. 
The  instinct  which  controls  living  beings,  the  forces  which 
keep  up  the   beating  of  our  hearts,  the  circulation  of  our 
blood,  the  respiration  of  our  lungs,  and  the  action   of  our 
stomachs,  may  they  not  have  parallels  in  the  material  universe, 
regulating  conditions  of  existence  incomparably  more  impor- 
tant than  those  of  a  human  being,  since,  for  example,  if  the 
sun  were  to  be  extinguished,  or  if  the  movement  of  the  earth 
were  put  out  of  its  course,  it  would  not  be  one  human  being 
who  would  die,  it  would  be  the  whole  population  of  our 
fflobe,  to  say  nothing  of  that  of  other  planets.  ^ 
r      There  exists  in  our  cosmos  a  dynamic  element,  imponder- 
able  and  invisible,  diffused  through  all  parts  of  the  universe, 
I   independent  of  matter  visible  and  ponderable,  and  acting 
j   upon  it ;  and  in  that  dynamic  element  there  is  an  intelligence 
♦.superior  to  our  own.'  \  Yes,  undoubtedly  we  think  with  our 

'  The  great  chemist  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  the  first  man  who  experi- 
mented with  protoxide  of  azote  (in  1799),  during  his  first  experiments 
breathed  too  powerful  a  dose  and  lost  consciousness.  During  this  brief 
space  of  apparent  annihilation  he  experienced  extraordinary  cerebral  im- 
pressions, which  he  remembered  on  awaking,  at  least  so  far  as  concerned 
their  metaphysical  consequences.  His  ideas,  recalled  with  energy, burst 
forth  in  this  sudden  exclamation,  which  he  uttered  in  the  tone  of  one 
inspired,  "Nothing  exists  but  thought.  The  universe  is  composed  of 
impressions,  ideas,  pleasures,  and  pains  !"  (Sir  H.  Davy,  The  Last  Days 
of  a  PhilosopTier. ) 

In  relating  one  of  her  curious  experiences,  Madame  d'Esperance,  whose 
faculties  as  a  medium  were  extraordinary,  tells  us  of  a  similar  impres- 

xi 


INTRODUCTION 

brains,  as  we  see  with  our  eyes,  as  we  hear  with  our  ears ;  but 
it  is  not  our  brain  which  thinks,  any  more  than  it  is  our  eyes 
which  see.  What  would  you  say  of  a  person  who  congratu- 
lated a  telescope  on  seeing  the  canals  of  Mars  so  well  ?  The 
eye  is  an  organ,  and  so  is  the  brain. 

Psychical  problems  are  not  so  strange  as  astronomical  prob- 
lems were  formerly  considered.  If  the  soul  is  immortal,  and 
if  heaven  is  to  be  its  future  country,  a  knowledge  of  the  soul 
cannot  but  be  in  some  way  associated  with  a  knowledge  of 
heaven.  Is  not  infinite  space  the  domain  of  eternity  ?  What 
is  there  surprising  in  the  fact  that  astronomers  have  been 
thinkers,  searchers  in  this  field,  anxious  to  gain  light  as  to 
the  real  nature  of  man,  as  well  as  of  creation  ?  Therefore 
let  us  not  account  it  a  fault  in  Schiaparelli,  director  of  the 
Milan  Observatory  and  the  indefatigable  observer  of  the 
planet  Mars,  or  in  Zoellner,  the  director  of  the  Observatory 
at  Leipsic  and  author  of  some  important  researches  on  the 
planets,  or  in  Crpokes,  who  was  as  much  an  astronomer  as 
he  was  a  pliysi^ifit,  besides  some  others,  to  have  endeavored 
to  find  out  what  was  true  in  these  manifestations.  Truth  is 
one,  and  all  may  be  found  in  nature. 

The  psychical  sciences  are  greatly  behind  physical  sciences 
as  to  what  is  known  of  them.  Astronomy  has  had  its  New- 
ton, but  biology  is  comparatively  in  the  time  of  Copernicus, 
physiology  in  that  of  Hipparchus  and  Ptolemy.  All  that 
we  can  do  at  present  is  to  gather  together  observations,  to 
compare  them,  and  to  assist  in  the  debut  of  the  new  science. 

One  perceives — one  can  presage — that  the  religion  of  the 
future  will  be  scientific,  will  be  founded  on  a  knowledge  of 
psychical  facts.  This  religion  of  science  will  have  one  great 
advantage  over  all  that  have  gone  before  it — unity.  To- 
day a  Jew  or  a  Protestant  cannot  believe  in  the  miracles  at 
Lourdes,  a  Mussulman  hates  the  "dog  of  a  Christian,"  a 
Buddhist  cannot  accept  the  dogmas  of  the  Western  world. 

sion.  *•  How  can  I  describe  the  indescribable?  Time  had  disappeared. 
Space  was  no  more.  I  felt  that  thoughts  were  the  only  really  tangible 
things."    (E.  d'Esp^rance,  Au  Pays  de  V Ombre.) 


INTRODUCTION 

No  one  of  these  divisions  will  exist  in  a  religion  founded  on 
the  general  scientific  solution  of  psychical  problems. 

But  we  are  as  yet  far  from  questions  of  theory  or  dogma. 
What  before  all  else  is  important  is  to  know  if  the  phenome- 
na we  have  to  deal  with  exist,  and  avoid  loss  of  time  and  es- 
cape the  folly  of  looking  for  the  cause  of  things  that  have  no 
existence !  Let  us  first  make  sure  of  our  facts,  theories  will 
come  after.  This  book  will  contain  primarily  observations, 
examples,  verifications,  and  testimony.  It  will  have  as  few 
*' phrases"  as  possible.  What  we  want  to  do  is  to  collect 
such  proofs  as  may  lead  to  certainty  hereafter.  We  will  try 
to  give  a  methodical  classification  to  our  phenomena  by  group- 
ing together  those  that  are  most  alike,  and  afterwards  trying 
to  explain  them.  This  book  is  not  a  romance,  but  a  collec- 
tion of  documents,  the  thesis  of  a  scientific  study.  I  have 
tried  to  follow  the  maxim  of  the  astronomer  Laplace.  "  We 
are  as  yet  far  from  knowing  all  the  agencies  of  nature,"  he 
wrote  (apropos,  by  the  way,  of  animal  magnetism),  **  but  it 
would  be  unphilosophical  to  reject  phenomena  merely  be- 
cause they  are  inexplicable  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowl- 
edge. Only  we  must  examine  them  with  the  most  scrupulous 
attention,  and  determine  up  to  what  point  we  should  multiply 
observations  or  experiments  in  order  to  obtain  a  probability 
superior  to  the  reasons  that  may  be  brought  forward  for  not 
admitting  them." 

Such  is  our  programme.  Those  who  are  willing  to  follow 
us  will  see  that  if  this  work  has  but  one  merit  it  is  sincerity. 
We  seek  to  know  whether  we  can  arrive  at  the  affirmation 
that  the  mysterious  phenomena  which  seem  to  have  been 
known  in  the  world  from  its  very  highest  antiquity  really 
exist,  and  our  sole  object  is  to  discover  the  truth. 

Paris,  December,  1899. 


THE    UNKNOWN 


CHAPTER  I 
ON    mCREDULITY 


*'  Croire  tout  decouvert  est  une  erreur  profondCf 
C'est  prendre  I'horizon  pour  les  bornes  du  monde.** 

-Lamartine. 


i^L. 


Maky  men  are  the  victims  of  intellectual  short-sighted- 
ness; and  many,  as  Lamierre  has  justly  told  us,{Jake  their 
own  horizon  to  be  the  boundary  of  the  whole  worldr)  New 
facts  or  new  ideas  bewilder  and  horrify  them.  They  wish  to 
see  no  changes  in  the  steady  march  of  events  to  which  they 
are  accustomed.  The  history  of  the  progress  of  human 
knowledge  is  a  dead-letter  to  them.  The  boldness  of  inves- 
tigators, of  inventors,  of  all  who  try  to  effect  any  kind  of 
revolution,  seems  criminal  to  them.  In  their  eyes  the  human 
race  has  been  always  what  it  is  at  the  present  moment.  They 
overlook  the  Stone  Age,  the  discovery  of  fire,  the  first  con- 
struction of  houses,  the  building  of  carts,  carriages,  and  rail- 
roads— in  short,  all  the  difficulties  that  the  intelligence  of 
man  has  overcome,  and  all  the  discoveries  of  science.  They 
apparently  retain  some  traces  of  their  descent  from  fishes — 
nay,  even  from  a  mollusca.  Comfortably  seated  in  tlieir 
easy-chairs,  these  excellent  people  remain  imperturbably  well 
satisfied.  They  are  absolutely  incapable  of  admitting  the 
truth  of  anything  they  do  not  understand,  and  never  suspect 
that  they  really  understand  nothing  at  all.  They  do  not 
know  that  behind  any  explanation  we  may  give  of  the  phe- 
A  1 


THE    UNKNOWN 

nomeiuL  of  nature  there  lies  the  great  unknown.  They  are 
satit>ned  \\'iUi  old  formulaG,,  by  a  mere  change  of  words. 
"  Why  does  a  stone  fall  ?"  "  Because  it  is  attracted  by  the 
earth."  Such  an  answer  satisfies  them.  They  think  they 
understand.  Long -accepted  phraseology  imposes  on  them 
as  it  does  upon  the  simpleton  in  the  play  of  Moli^re  :  ^'  ossa- 
bandus,  nequeis,  nequor,  potarinum  qtiipsa  milus"  (this 
explains  exactly  why  your  daughter  is  dumb),  says  Sgnana- 
relle  in  the  comedy. 

In  all  ages,  in  all  degrees  of  civilization,  many  men  of  this 
sort  have  been  found — stupid  and  tranquil,  yet  not  wholly 
devoid  of  vanity;  men  who  frankly  deny  belief  in  everything 
not  clearly  explained  or  explored,  and  yet  fancy  they  know 
all  about  the  unfathomable  organization  of  the  universe. 
J  They  are  like  two  ants  in  a  garden  attempting  to  converse 
about  the  history  of  France,  or  the  distance  of  the  earth  from 
the  sun.' 

Let  us  go  back  to  history  and  cite  a  few  examples. 

The  school  of  Pythagoras,  having  discarded  the  common 
ideas  of  the  age  concerning  nature,  rose  to  a  belief  in  the 
diurnal  movement  of  our  planet,  which  relieved  the  bound- 
less heavens  from  the  absurd  necessity  of  turning  every 
twenty-four  hours  round  our  earth,  a  little  insignificant  spot 
in  the  infinity  of  space.  Of  course,  public  opinion  was  at 
once  in  revolt  against  any  new  idea  conceived  by  genius. 
Who  can  expect  an  elephant  to  soar  upward  to  an  eagle's 
nest  ?  But  the  power  of  vulgar  prejudice  is  so  great  that 
even  superior  minds  found  it  impossible  to  rise  to  the  height 
of  this  conception.  Not  even  Plato  and  Archimedes,  two 
men  of  brilliant  intellect — not  even  astronomers  like  Hip- 
parchus  and  Ptolemy.  Indeed,  the  latter  could  not  help 
laughing  heartily  at  such  a  palpable  absurdity.  He  asserted 
that  the  theory  of  the  movement  of  the  earth  was  simply 
ridiculous  o)avv  ytXoLOTaTov.  The  expression  is  decidedly 
picturesque.  We  may  see  by  this  how  the  paunch  of  some 
good  canon  might  have  quivered,  or  still  quivers,  over  a  joke 
of  the  same  kind,  panu  gueldiotaton.  "  Good  Heaven !"  a 
sceptic  would  have  said,  *^how  funny!     Think  of  the  earth 

a 


ON    INCREDULITY 

turning  round,  how  absurd !  The  Pythagorians  have  gone 
mad,  their  heads  are  upside  down  V 

Socrates  drank  hemlock  with  the  hope  of  being  set  free 
from  the  superstitions  of  his  time.  Anaxagoras  was  perse- 
cuted for  having  dared  to  teach  that  the  sun  was  larger  than 
the  Peloponnesus.  Two  thousand  years  later  Galileo  was 
persecuted  for  having  affirmed  the  vastness  of  the  solar  sys- 
tem and  the  comparative  insignificance  of  our  planet.  The 
search  after  truth  does  not  go  forward  with  leaps  and  bounds, 
while  human  passions  and  the  dominant  interests  of  this  life, 
which  blind  men  to  great  facts,  remain  the  same. 

A  similar  doubt  still  exists,  notwithstanding  the  accumula- 
tion of  proofs  brought  forward  by  modern  astronomy.  Have 
we  not  in  our  libraries  a  book  published  in  1806  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  maintaining  that  the  earth  does  not  move 
round  the  sun  ?  In  it  the  author  declares  that  he  will  never 
admit  that  our  planet  revolves  like  a  fowl  upon  the  spit. 
This  good  gentleman  was  nevertheless  a  man  of  considerable 
intelligence  (which  does  not  mean  that  he  was  not  ignorant). 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Institute  in  that  day.  His  name 
was  Mercier.  He  is  best  known  by  his  Tableau  de  Paris,  and 
from  that  book  we  might  have  credited  him  with  better  judg- 
ment. 

I  was  present  one  day  at  a  meeting  of  the  Academy  of 
Sciences.  It  was  a  day  to  be  remembered,  for  its  proceedings 
were  absurd.  Du  Moncel  introduced  Edison's  phonograph 
to  the  learned  assembly.  When  the  presentation  had  been 
made,  the  proper  person  began  quietly  to  recite  the  usual 
formula  as  he  registered  it  upon  his  roll.  Then  a  middle- 
aged  academician,  whose  mind  was  stored — nay,  saturated 

with  traditions  drawn  from  his  culture  in  the  classics,  rose, 
and,  nobly  indignant  at  the  audacity  of  the  inventor,  rushed 
towards  the  man  who  represented  Edison,  and  seized  him  by 
the  collar,  crying  :  *'  Wretch  !  we  are  not  to  be  made  dupes 
of  by  a  ventriloquist  l"  This  member  of  the  Institute  was 
Monsieur  Bouillaud.  The  day  was  the  11th  of  March,  1878. 
The  most  curious  thing  about  it  was  that  six  months  later, 
on  September  30th,  before  a  similar  assembly,  the  same  man 

3 


THE    UNKNOWN 

considered  himself  bonnd  in  honor  to  declare  that  after  a 
close  examination  he  could  find  nothing  in  the  invention  bnt 
ventriloquism,  and  "that  it  was  impossible  to  admit  that 
mere  vile  metal  could  perform  the  work  of  human  phonation." 
The  phonograph,  according  to  his  idea  of  it,  was  nothing  but 
an  acoiistic  illusion. 

When  Lavoisier  analyzed  the  air  and  discovered  that  it  was 
composed  principally  of  two  gases,  oxygen  and  azote,  his 
discovery  discomposed  more  than  one  accepted  opinion.  A 
member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  Baume  the  chemist 
(who  invented  the  areometer),  firmly  believing  in  the  four 
elements  of  ancient  science,  learnedly  wrote  thus  :  "  The 
elements  or  principles  of  bodies  have  long  been  recognized, 
and  the  existence  of  these  elements  is  confirmed  by  physi- 
cians in  all  countries  and  in  all  ages.  It  is  not  to  be  im- 
agined that  these  elements,  regarded  as  such  for  two  thousand 
years,  are  now  to  be  placed  among  the  number  of  compound 
substances,  or  that  the  results  by  experiments  to  decompose 
air  and  water  can  be  looked  upon  as  certain  truth,  or  that 
reasoning  on  the  subject,  to  say  the  least,  can  be  anything 
but  absurd.  The  recognized  properties  in  the  elements  are 
related  to  all  the  physical  and  chemical  knowledge  we  have 
yet  obtained ;  thus  far  they  have  served  as  our  basis  for  an 
infinite  number  of  discoveries  and  support  brilliant  theories. 
Are  we  now  expected  to  surrender  our  belief  in  fire,  water, 
earth  and  air  ?  Are  these  no  longer  to  be  recognized  as 
elements — that  is,  primary  substances  ?" 

Everybody  now  knows  that  these  four  '*  elements,^'  so 
conscientiously  and  vehemently  defended,  do  not  exist,  and 
that  modern  chemists  were  right  to  decompose  water  and  air. 
As  to  fire  or  phlogiston,  which  according  to  Baume  and  his 
contemporaries  was  the  deus  ex  machina  of  nature  and  of 
life,  it  has  only  existed  as  an  element  in  the  imagination  of 
professors. 

Even  Lavoisier,  great  chemist  as  he  was,  was  not  too  great 
to  be  one  of  those  who  ventured  to  maintain  that  nothing 
more  remains  to  be  discovered  ;  for  he  wrote  a  learned  report 
to  the  Academy,  setting  forth  that  stones  could  not  fall  from 

4 


ON    INCREDULITY 

the  skies — it  was  contrary  to  common-sense  to  think  so. 
Take  another  instance,  Gassendi  was  a  man  of  independent 
mind,  and  one  of  the  most  learned  savants  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  An  aerolite  weighing  thirty  kilogrammes  fell  in 
Provence,  in  1627,  out  of  a  clear  sky.  Gassendi  saw  it, 
touched  it,  examined  it — and  attributed  it  to  an  eruption  of 
the  earth  in  some  unknown  region. 

The  spectre  of  the  Brocken,  the  fata  Morgana,  and  the 
mirage,  were  once  denied  to  exist  by  many  sensible  people, 
because  they  could  not  be  explained. 

It  is  not  long  since  (1890)  that  doubts  were  thrown  on 
thunder-bolts,  in  a  full  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences 
at  Paris,  by  the  very  members  of  the  Institute  who  ought 
to  have  known  most  upon  the  subject. 

The  history  of  the  progress  of  science  is  continually  teach- 
ing us  that  great  and  far-reaching  results  may  take  place  from 
the  most  simple  investigations  and  from  unscientific  observa- 
tions. ;  In  the  domain  of  scientific  investigation  nothing 
ought  ever  to  be  neglected.  What  a  marvellous  transforma- 
^on  in  our  modern  life  has  been  produced  by  electricity  ! — by 
its  use  in  the  telegraph,  the  telephone,  in  electric  light,  in 
safe  and  rapid  locomotion,  etc.,  etc.  Without  electricity 
nations,  cities,  and  our  daily  life  would  be  different  from  what 
we  know  them.  Without  electricity  travelling  by  steam 
could  not  have  attained  its  present  perfection,  for  stations 
could  not  have  communicated  instantaneously  with  one  an- 
other ;  trains  could  not  have  been  run  with  safety.  Few 
know  that  the  cradle  of  this  useful  fairy  was  in  the  first  rays 
of  morning  light,  where  may  be  dimly  seen  those  elements 
that  keen  eyes  have  had  the  glory  to  observe  and  to  point  out 
to  the  attention  of  the  world. 

This  reminds  us  of  the  frog  soup  of  Madame  Galvani  in 
1791.  Galvani  had  married  the  pretty  daughter  of  his  old 
master,  Lucia  Galeozgi,  and  he  loved  her  dearly.  She  was  ill 
at  Bologna,  dying  of  consumption.  The  doctor  ordered  her 
frog  broth,  a  very  excellent  dish,  by-the-way.  Galvani  in- 
sisted upon  cooking  it  himself. 

He  tells  us  that,  sitting  on  his  balcony,  he  had  cut  up  a 

5 


THE    UNKNOWN 

certain  number  of  frogs,  and  hung  their  legs,  which  he  had 
separated  from  their  bodies,  on  an  iron  balustrade  before  him, 
by  means  of  little  copper  hooks  which  he  used  in  his  experi- 
ments. Suddenly  he  saw  with  astonishment  (for  what  oc- 
curred appeared  to  him  phenomenal)  the  frogs'  legs  shaking 
convulsively  every  time  they  chanced  to  touch  the  iron  of 
the  balcony.  Galvani,  who  was  then  professor  of  physics  in 
the  University  of  Bologna,  studied  this  problem  with  rare 
sagacity,  and  soon  discovered  how  he  could  produce  the 
same  results  at  will.  If  we  take  the  legs  of  a  frog  which  has 
been  skinned,  we  shall  see  the  lumbar  nerves  looking  like 
white  threads.  They  are  very  numerous  in  these  little  creat- 
ures. If  we  pick  up  these  nerves,  wrap  them  in  a  sheet  of 
tin,  and  then  place  the  upper  part  of  the  legs  in  a  state  of 
flexion  on  a  piece  of  copper,  and  touch  the  copper  with  the 
edge  of  the  tin,  the  muscles  will  contract,  and  any  slight 
object  placed  in  contact  with  the  frog's  toes  will  be  pushed 
against  with  considerable  force.  This  is  the  experiment  to 
which  Galvani  was  led  by  chance,  and  was  thence  brought  to 
the  discovery  which  bears  his  name — galvanis^n.  It  after- 
wards gave  birth  to  the  pile  of  Volta,  to  galvanoplasticism, 
and  to  many  other  applications  of  electricity. 

The  observation  made  by  the  physician  of  Bologna  was  re- 
ceived with  laughter  by  the  public,  but  there  were  a  few  wise 
men  who  gave  it  the  attention  it  deserved.  The  poor  dis- 
coverer was  for  a  time  made  very  unhappy.  '^  I  am  attacked," 
he  wrote  in  1792,  "by  two  opposite  parties — the  learned  and 
the  ignorant.  Both  laugh  at  me,  and  call  me  the  frog's  dan- 
cing-master. But  yet  I  know  that  I  have  discovered  one  of 
the  forces  of  nature." 

About  the  same  time  animal  magnetism  was  utterly  con- 
demned in  Paris  by  the  Academy  of  Sciences  and  by  the  Fac- 
ulty of  Medicine.  Men  waited  before  they  would  believe  in  it 
(and  even  after  !),  to  see  the  result  of  an  operation  by  Jules  Clo- 
quet,  for  cancer  in  a  woman's  breast,  which  was  to  be  perform- 
ed, without  pain,  after  she  had  been  previously  magnetized. » 

*  See  farther  on,  p.  410,  a  full  account  of  this  surgical  operation.  It 
took  place  April  12,  1839. 

6 


ON    INCREDULITY 

I  knew  in  Turin,  about  1875,  a  very  indigent  descendant 
of  the  Marquis  de  Jouffroy,  who,  like  myself,  was  a  native  of 
the  Haute-Marne.  The  marquis  invented  steamboats  in 
1776.  It  is  known  that  he  spent  all  his  own,  and  much  of 
his  friends'  money,  in  attempts  to  demonstrate  the  possi- 
bility of  applying  steam  to  the  service  of  navigation.  His 
first  boat  was  launched  on  the  Doubs,  at  Baume-les-Dames, 
in  1776.  Another,  at  Lyons,  sailed  up  the  Saone  as  far  as 
the  He  Barbe  in  1785.  Jouffroy  wanted  to  get  up  a  com- 
pany to  carry  out  his  scheme,  but  for  this  he  required  an  offi- 
cial permit — a  *' privilege."  The  Government  submitted  the 
question  of  granting  it  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  which, 
under  the  influence  of  Perier  (who  made  the  first  fire-engine 
at  Chaillot),  gave  an  unfavorable  opinion.  Besides  this, 
everybody  overwhelmed  the  poor  marquis  with  jokes  about 
his  attempt  to  *^ combine  the  services  of  fire  and  water,"  and 
he  received  the  nickname  of  Jouffroy-le-Pompe.  The  hap- 
less inventor  at  length  became  discouraged.  He  emigrated 
during  the  Revolution,  but  returned  to  France  during  the 
Consulate,  when  he  discovered  that  Fulton  had  had  no  bet- 
ter success  with  the  First  Consul  than  he  had  had  with  the 
old  monarchy.  Subsequently  Fulton  failed  to  convince  the 
English  Government,  in  1804,  and  it  was  not  until  1807  that 
his  first  steamboat  was  launched  successfully  upon  the  Hud- 
son, in  his  own  country,  where  at  length  tardy  justice  was 
done  to  him. 

Such  is  the  experience  of  almost  all  inventors.  Another 
one  (also  a  native  of  the  Haute-Marne),  Philippe  Lebon,  dis- 
covered how  to  use  gas  for  lighting  purposes,  in  1797.  He 
died  in  1804,  on  the  day  of  the  Emperor's  coronation  (mur- 
dered, it  was  thought,  in  the  Champs -Elysees),  without 
having  seen  his  idea  adopted  by  his  country.  The  prin- 
cipal objection  raised  to  it  was  that  a  lamp  without  a  wick 
could  not  possibly  burn.  Gas  was  first  used  in  England  for 
street  lighting  in  Birmingham,  in  1805.  It  was  adopted  in 
London  in  1813,  and  in  1818  it  was  introduced  in  Paris. 

When  railroads  were  first  constructed,  engineers  predicted 
that   they  could  never  become   practicable  ;    and   that   the 

7 


THE    UNKNOWN 

wheels  of  the  locomotives  would  simply  whirl  round  and 
round  without  moving  forward.  In  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
in  1838,  Arago,  hoping  to  throw  cold  water  on  the  ardor  of  the 
partisans  of  the  new  invention,  spoke  of  the  inertia  of  matter, 
of  the  tenacity  of  metals,  and  of  the  resistance  of  the  air. 
'*  The  speed  of  steam-engines,"  he  said,  *'may  be  great — very 
great,  but  it  will  not  equal  what  has  been  predicted.  Let  us 
not  put  faith  in  mere  words.  They  tell  us  it  will  bring  an  in- 
crease of  travel.  In  1836  the  whole  amount  of  money  paid  for 
travelling  and  transportation  in  France  was  2,805,000  francs. 
If  all  the  projected  lines  are  built,  if  all  transit  were  by  means 
of  railroads  and  locomotives,  this  2,805,000  francs  would  be 
reduced  to  1,052,000.  This  would  mean  a  diminution  of 
1,751,000  francs  per  annum.  The  country  would  thus  lose 
about  two-thirds  of  the  money  now  paid  for  transportation  by 
carriages.  Let  us  mistrust  imagination.  Imagination  is  the 
misleading  fairy  of  our  homes.  Two  parallel  lines  of  iron 
will  not  give  a  new  face  to  the  Landes  of  Gascony."  And  all 
the  rest  of  his  speech  was  in  this  vein — by  which  we  may  see 
that  when  new  ideas  have  to  be  presented  to  the_  public  the 
greatest  minds  may  fall  into  error. 

M.  Thiers  said  also,  '^I  admit  that  railroads  would  furnish 
some  advantages  for  the  transportation  of  travellers,  provided 
their  use  was  limited  to  a  few  short  lines,  with  their  termi- 
nals in  great  cities  like  Paris.  But  long  lines  are  not 
wanted." 

Hear  also  Proudhon  :  "  It  is  a  vulgar  and  ridiculous  notion 
to  assert  that  railroads  will  increase  the  circulation  of  ideas." 

In  Bavaria  the  Royal  College  of  Doctors,  having  been  con- 
sulted, declared  that  railroads,  if  they  were  constructed, 
would  cause  the  greatest  deterioration  in  the  health  of  the 
public,  because  such  rapid  movement  would  cause  brain 
trouble  among  travellers,  and  vertigo  among  those  who 
looked  at  moving  trains.  For  this  last  reason  it  was  recom- 
mended that  all  tracks  should  be  enclosed  by  high  board 
fences  raised  above  the  height  of  the  cars  and  engines. 

When  a  proposition  was  first  made  to  lay  a  submarine  cable 
between  Europe  and  America,  in  1855,  one  of  our  greatest 

8 


ON    INCREDULITY 

authorities  in  physics,  Babinet — a  member  of  the  Institute, 
and  an  examiner  in  the  Polythionique  £cole  Polytechnique — 
wrote  thus  in  the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes ;  ''  I  cannot  regard 
this  project  as  serious  ;  the  theory  of  currents  might  easily 
afford  irrefutable  proof  that  such  a  thing  is  an  impossibility, 
to  say  nothing  of  new  currents  that  would  be  created  all  along 
the  electric  line,  and  which  are  very  appreciable  even  in  the 
short  cable  crossing  from  Calais  to  Dover.  I  repeat  here  what 
I  have  said  several  times  already— that  the  only  way  of  con- 
necting the  Old  World  with  the  New  is  to  cross  Behring's 
Strait  by  some  submarine  track,  unless,  indeed,  a  way  should 
be  found  through  the  Faroe  Islands,  Iceland,  Greenland,  and 
Labrador."  ! ! 

The  great  geologist,  Elie  de  Beaumont,  permanent  secre- 
tary to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  in  Paris,  who  died  in  1874, 
never  ceased,  so  long  as  he  lived,  to  deny  that  there  ever  was,  or 
ever  could  be,  any  fossil  man,  without  having  anything  like 
certainty  to  support  him  in  this  opinion.  My  enterprising 
friend  £mile  Riviere  discovered  a  fossil  man  in  1872,  in  a 
grotto  near  Mentone,  and  had  him  brought  to  the  Museum  in 
Paris,  where  any  one  may  look  at  him  ;  but  few  people  even 
now,  seem  willing  to  admit  that  there  ever  was  found  such  a 
fossil,  and  M.  Riviere,  up  to  the  present  date  (1899),  has  not 
even  been  decorated  !  (God  knows  how  many  nobodies  have 
in  the  meantime  received  the  Cross  of  Honor.) 

In  England,  in  1841,  the  Royal  Society  refused  insertion 
to  a  most  important  paper  by  the  celebrated  Joule,  who  orig- 
inated the  thermodynameter  with  Mayer ;  and  Thomas  Young, 
who  with  Fresnel  established  the  undulation  theory  con- 
cerning light,  was  exposed  to  the  pleasantries  of  Lord 
Brougham. 

In  Germany  things  took  a  sadder  turn.  Mayer,  seeing  the 
contumelious  scepticism  with  which  his  immortal  discovery 
was  received  by  learned  men  in  official  stations,  grew  doubt- 
ful of  himself  and  flung  himself  out  of  a  window.  But  shortly 
after  that  all  the  academies  opened  their  arms  to  him.  Ohm, 
too,  the  great  electrician,  was  treated  as  a  madman  by  his 
German  countrymen. 

9 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Nor  can  we  fail  to  remember  what  happened  after  the  in- 
vention of  glasses  that  would  bring  distant  objects  within 
our  range  of  vision.  The  Dutch  senators  refused  the  in- 
ventor a  patent,  because  his  glasses  ^'  were  only  adapted  to  be 
used  by  one  eye,"  and  half  a  century  later  Hevelius,  the  emi- 
nent astronomer,  refused  to  use  such  glasses  in  his  instru- 
ments, when  making  his  catalogue  of  stars,  because  he  imag- 
ined that  they  might  alter  in  some  way  the  exact  position  of 
the  heavenly  bodies. 

These  examples  might  be  multiplied  to  the  world's  end. 
Such  as  I  have  given  are,  however,  sufficient  to  throw  light 
on  one  aspect  of  the  human  mind,  which  should  not  be  over- 
looked by  those  who  seek  for  truth. 

A  friend,  endeared  to  me  by  thirty  years  of  affectionate 
intercourse  and  sweet  intellectual  companionship — Eugene 
Nus — dedicated  one  of  his  works,  Choses  de  Vautre  monde, 
after  this  fashion  : 

•  •  To  the  memory  of  all  savants, 

Breveted,  patented, 

Crowned  with  palms,  decorated,  and  buried. 

Who  have  been  opposed  to  the  rotation  of  the  earth, 

To  meteorites, 

To  galvanism, 

To  the  circulation  of  the  blood, 

To  vaccination. 

To  waves  of  light, 

To  lightning-rods, 

To  daguerreotypes, 

To  steam  power. 

To  propellers, 

V  To  steamboats, 

To  railroads, 

To  lighting  by  gas, 

To  magnetism. 

And  all  the  rest. 

And  to  all  those  now  living,  or  who  shall  yet  be  born, 

"Who  do  the  same  in  this  present  day. 

Or  shall  do  the  same  hereafter." 

It  would  seem  to  me  irreverent  to  copy  him,  and  I  should 
be  nnwilling  to  write  the  same  dedication  at  the  beginning  of 

10 


ON    INCREDULITY  -^"^^ 

this  volume.  Bnt  I  have  it  in  my  mind,  and  have  allowed  it 
here  to  be  reprinted,  because  I  think  it  has  a  certain  philo- 
sophic value  in  this  connection.  And  I  will  add,  with  Albert 
de  Rochas,  that  these  petrified  savants  may  yet  not  be  without 
their  uses.  *'  If  we  set  them  up  as  landmarks,  they  will  show 
us  successive  stages  in  the  march  of  human  progress." 

Auguste  Comte  and  Littre  have  apparently  striven  to 
trace  out  for  science  its  definite,  its  "  positive  "  way.  They 
tell  us  we  are  only  to  admit  what  we  can  see,  or  can  touch, 
or  what  we  have  heard ;  we  are  to  receive  nothing  except  on 
the  clear  evidence  of  our  own  senses,  and  are  not  to  endeavor 
to  know  what  is  unknowable.  For  half  a  century  these  have 
been  the  rules  which  have  regulated  science  in  the  world. 

But  see  now.  In  analyzing  the  testimony  of  our  senses 
we  find  that  they  can  deceive  us  absolutely.  We  see  the  sun, 
the  moon,  and  the  stars  revolving,  as  it  seems  to  us,  round 
us.  That  is  all  false.  We  feel  that  the  earth  is  motionless. 
That  is  false  too.  We  see  the  sun  rise  above  the  horizon. 
It  is  beneath  us.  We  touch  what  we  think  is  a  solid  body. 
There  is  no  such  thing.  We  hear  harmonious  sounds ;  but 
the  air  has  only  brought  us  silently  undulations  that  are 
silent  themselves.  We  admire  the  effects  of  light,  and  of  the 
colors  that  bring  vividly  before  our  eyes  the  splendid  scenes 
of  nature;  but  in  fact  there  is  no  light,  there  are  no  colors. 
It  is  the  movement  of  opaque  ether  striking  on  our  optic 
nerve  which  gives  us  the  impression  of  light  and  color.  We 
burn  our  foot  in  the  fire ;  it  is  not  the  foot  that  pains  us,  it 
is  in  our  brain  only  that  the  feeling  of  being  burned  resides. 
We  speak  of  heat  and  cold ;  there  is  neither  heat  nor  cold  in 
the  universe,  only  motion.  Thus  our  senses  mislead  us  as  to 
the  reality  of  objects  round  us.  Sensation  and  reality  are 
two  different  things. 

Nor  is  this  all.  Furthermore,  our  five  poor  senses  are  in- 
sufficient. They  only  enable  us  to  feel  a  very  small  number 
of  the  movements  which  make  up  the  life  of  the  universe. 
To  give  an  idea  of  this  here,  I  will  repeat  what  I  wrote  in 
Lume7i,  a  third  of  a  century  ago.  '^  Between  the  last  acoustic 
sensation  perceived  by  our  ears,  and  due  to  36,850  vibrations 

11 


M 


THE    UNKNOWN 

per  second,  to  the  first  optical  sensation  perceived  by  our 
eye,  which  is  due  to  400,000,000,000,000  vibrations  in  the 
same  space  of  time,  we  perceive  nothing.  There  is  an  enor- 
mous interval  with  which  no  one  of  our  senses  brings  us  into 
relation.  If  we  had  other  cords  to  our  lyre,  ten,  one  hun- 
dred, or  a  thousand,  the  harmony  of  nature  would  be  trans- 
mitted to  us  more  complete  than  it  is  now,  by  making  these 
chords  all  feel  the  influence  of  vibrations."  On  one  hand 
our  senses  deceive  us,  on  the  other  their  testimony  is  very 
incomplete.  Thus  we  have  no  cause  to  be  vainglorious, 
or  to  set  up  our  so-called  positive  philosophy  as  a  prin- 
ciple. 

No  doubt  we  should  make  use  of  everything  we  have. 
Keligious  faith  says  to  our  reason :  *^  My  little  dear,  you 
have  only  a  lantern  to  walk  by ;  blow  it  out,  and  let  me  lead 
you  by  the  hand."  But  this  is  not  our  modern  idea.  We 
have  a  lantern,  a  pretty  poor  one,  it  is  true,  but  to  extin- 
guish it  would  be  to  leave  ourselves  in  darkness.  Let  us 
recognize  in  princple,  on  the  contrary,  that  reason,  or  (if  you 
choose  to  put  it  so)  reasons,  ought  in  everything  to  be  our 
guide.  Beyond  that  we  have  nothing.  But  do  not  let  us 
draw  too  circumscribed  a  circle  around  science.  I  come 
back  to  Auguste  Comte,  because  he  is  the  founder  of  the 
modern  school,  and  had  one  of  the  greatest  minds  in  our 
century.  He  limits  the  sphere  of  astronomy  to  what  was 
known  of  it  in  his  day.  That  is  simply  an  absurdity.  ''  We 
can  conceive,"  he  says,  "the  possibility  of  studying  the  forms 
of  planets,  their  distances,  their  movements,  but  we  can 
never  find  out  what  is  their  chemical  composition."  This 
celebrated  philosopher  died  in  1857.  Five  years  later  spec- 
tral analysis  made  us  acquainted  with  that  very  chemical 
composition  of  the  planets,  and  classed  the  stars  in  the 
order  of  their  chemical  nature. 

This  is  just  like  what  was  done  by  astronomers  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  who  said  it  was  impossible  that  there 
could  exist  more  than  seven  planets. 

The  unknown  of  yesterday  may  be  recognized  to-morrow 
as  truth. 

12 


Q 


ON    INCREDULITY 

It  would  be  a  mistake,  however,  should  we  think  that 
savaiits  (certain  savants,  I  mean)  and  men  of  prominence  are 
alone  responsible  for  such  acts  of  stupidity.  It  is  the  same 
with  men  in  general ;  the  majority  of  the  public  is  the  same. 
The  human  brain  is  made  in  every  case  of  much  the  same 
material,  whether  it  be  that  of  a  savant,  a  writer,  an  artist, 
a  magistrate,  a  politician,  a  manufacturer,  an  artisan,  a  work- 
man, or  a  sluggard.  The  reproach  we  cast  at  men  whose 
minds  were  shut  against  all  new  inventions  (men  like  Napo- 
leon, for  example,  who,  when  his  knowledge  of  steam-power 
might  have  ruined  England,  his  great  enemy,  could  not  be 
made  to  understand  its  uses)  might  be  hurled  as  appropri- 
ately at  the  rest  of  the  world.  A  man  may,  indeed,  have 
very  superior  faculties  in  one  direction,  and  be  very  deficient 
in  all  others."  The  melancholy  examples  I  have  cited  are  not 
an  indictment  drawn  up  against  savants  in  particular,  still 
less  against  science.  Only  one  would  wish  not  to  see  en- 
lightened minds  fall  into  the  inert  ignorance  of  the  vulgar, 
and  it  is  because  we  hold  them  in  high  esteem  that  we  are 
most  alive  to  their  weaknesses. 

It  is  but  just,  too,  to  remember  that  an  excuse  can  be  of- 
fered for  obstructions,  checks,  and  oppositions  of  this  kind. 
One  is  seldom  sure  at  first  of  the  reality  or  the  value  of  a  new 
thing.  The  first  steamboats  sailed  badly,  and  were  hardly  so 
good  as  sailing-vessels.  Our  earth  did  indeed  appear  im- 
movable. Ah  and  water  seemed  to  be  elements.  It  did  not 
appear  natural  that  stones  should  come  down  out  of  the  sky. 
The  first  manifestations  of  the  power  of  electricity  seemed 
hard  to  understand.  Railroads  appeared  likely  to  throw 
everything  into  confusion.* 

'  When  I  was  six  years  old  I  watched  the  construction  of  a  line  of 
railroad  to  run  from  Paris  to  Lyons  and  the  Mediterranean.  The  section 
I  then  saw  was  from  Tonnerre  to  Dijon,  and  when  I  was  twelve  I 
watclied  that  from  Paris  to  Mulhouse,  in  the  section  from  Chaumont  to 
Chalindrey,  and  I  remember  as  if  it  were  yesterday  the  talk  which  went 
on  around  me.  No  one  had  any  conception  of  the  development  of  rail- 
road lines  in  less  than  half  a  century,  and  men,  instead  of  wishing  to 
have  stations  within  easy  reach  of  their  homes,  were  inclined  to  have 

13 


THE    UNKNOWN 

When  genius  leads  the  way,  and  a  new  discovery  is  made,  it 
is  but  natural  that  people  in  general  should  find  themselves 
left  behind;  they  cannot  understand  the  ways  of  progress. 

Besides,  new  facts,  little  known  and  unexplained,  are  often 
vague,  confused,  difficult  to  analyze,  badly  stated  by  those 
who  undertake  to  bring  them  forward.  What  difficulties 
had  not  animal  magnetism,  under  other  names,  to  surmount 
before  it  arrived  at  the  state  of  scientific  investigation  and 
experiment  in  which  it  is  to-day  !  And  how  often  has  it  not 
been  turned  to  vile  and  idle  uses  by  charlatans  who  have 
worked  upon  the  credulity  of  the  public  ?  And  in  magnetic 
phenomena,  and  in  those  of  spiritualism,  how  much  fraud, 
how  much  deception  we  can  find  —  what  infamous  false- 
hoods, without  counting  those  of  stupid  people  who  play 
tricks  ''for  amusement"!  Think,  too,  of  the  marvellous 
sleight  of  hand  which  is  at  the  command  of  jugglers  !  One 
is  tempted  to  excuse  in  part  the  cautious  reserve  of  scien- 
tific men. 

The  late  discovery  of  the  Rontgen  rays,  so  inconceivable 
and  so  strange  in  its  origin,  ought  to  convince  us  how  very 
small  is  the  field  of  our  usual  observations.  To  see  through 
opaque  substances !  to  look  inside  a  closed  box  !  to  see  the 
bones  of  an  arm,  a  leg,  a  body,  through  flesh  and  clothing ! 
Such  a  discovery  is,  to  say  the  least,  quite  contrary  to  every- 
thing we  have  been  used  to  consider  certainty.  This  is  in- 
deed a  most  eloquent  example  in  favor  of  the  axiom  :  it  is 
unscientific  to  assert  that  realities  are  stopped  by  the  limit 
of  our  knowledge  and  observation. 

And  the  telephone,  which  transmits  words,  not  by  sono- 
rous waves,  but  by  electric  force  !  If  we  speak  through  a 
tube  from  Paris  to  Marseilles,  our  voice  takes  three  minutes 
and  a  half  to  reach  its  destination.  It  would  take  the  same 
time  for  an  answer  to  come  back,  so  that  the  reply  when 
announced  by  the   operators  usual  ''  Hello  \"  would  reach 

them  as  much  at  a  distance  as  possible,  at  least  as  far  off  as  Langres, 
where  I  began  my  studies— and  in  my  own  village,  Montigy-le-Roi. 
At  both  these  places  the  stations  now  stand  isolated,  and  are  as  far  as 
they  possibly  can  be  from  the  business  centres  of  the  department. 

14 


ON    INCREDULITY 

us  in  seven  minutes.  We  do  not  consider  that  the  telephone 
once  seemed  as  absurd  to  us  as  the  X-rays  must  have  seemed 
to  scientists  when  we  knew  no  more  than  we  did  before  these 
discoveries. 

We  are  told  of  five  doors  to  human  knowledge  —  sight, 
hearing,  smell,  touch,  and  taste.  These  five  doors  open  for 
us  but  a  little  way  to  any  knowledge  of  the  world  around 
us,  especially  the  last  three — smell,  taste,  and  touch.  The 
eye  and  ear  can  do  a  good  deal,  but  it  is  light  alone  that 
really  puts  us  in  communication  with  the  universe.  Now 
what  is  light  ?  It  is  caused  by  a  kind  of  excessively  rapid 
vibration  of  the  air.  A  sensation  of  light  is  produced  on 
our  retina  by  vibrations  which  extend  from  400  trillions  a 
second  (the  red  extremity  of  the  luminous  spectum)  to  756 
trillions.  They  have  long  ago  been  measured  with  preci- 
sion. And  below  and  above  these  numbers  are  vibrations 
of  ether  not  perceptible  to  our  vision.  Beyond  the  red  line 
are  dark  caloric  vibrations.  Beyond  the  violet  line  are  chem- 
ical vibrations,  actinic,  and  capable  of  being  photographed, 
but  all  obscure.     There  are  others  still  unknown  to  us. 

To  these  remarks  I  would  like  to  add  something  that  would 
both  modify  them  and  develop  them.  It  is  a  comparison 
made  recently  by  Sir  William  Crookes,  of  the  probable  corre- 
spondence between  these  phenomena  of  the  universe,  and  the 
vacancies  that  our  terrestrial  organization  seems  to  suffer 
from  this  continuity.  Take  a  pendulum  beating  each  second 
in  the  air.  If  we  double  its  beats  we  obtain  the  following 
series  of  vibrations : 

1  degree 2 

2  " 4 

3  "  8 

4  "  16 

6  "  32 

6  "  64 

7  "  128 

8  "  256  !►  Sound. 

9  "  512 

10  "  1,024 

15  "  32,768 

15 


THE    UNKNOWN 

20  degrees 1,047,576 

25  •'      33.554,432 

30  "      1,073,741,824 

35  "      34,359,738,368 

40  "      1,099.511.627,776 

45  "      35,184,372,088,832 

48  "      281,474,976.716,656 

49  " 562,949,953.421,312 

50  "      1,125,890,906.842,624 

55  "      36,028,797,018,963,268 

56  "      72,057,594,037,927,936 

57  "      144,115,188,075,855,872 

58  "      288,230,376,151,711,744 

59  "      576,460,752,303,423,488 

60  "      1,152,921,504,606.846,976 

61  "      5,305,843.009,213,693,952 

62  "      4,611,686,018,427,389,904 

63  "      9,223,372,636,854,775,808 


[•  Unknown. 
Electricity. 

Unknown. 


Uight.i 
Unknown. 


X-rays. 


Unknown. 


At  the  fifth  degree,  after  the  beginning  to  52  vibrations  in 
a  second,  we  enter  the  region  where  the  vibration  of  the 
atmosphere  is  revealed  to  us  under  the  name  of  sound.  We 
there  find  the  lowest  musical  note.  If  among  musical  notes 
the  most  solemn  is  chosen — for  instance,  the  lowest  octave  of 
the  organ — it  will  be  perceived  that  elementary  sensations, 
though  forming  a  continuous  whole,  which  is  essential  that 
the  sound  may  remain  mnsical,  are  nevertheless  distinct  to  a 
certain  degree.  *^The  lower  the  note  is,"  says  Helmholtz, 
*'  the  better  does  the  ear  distinguish  in  it  the  successive  pul- 
sations of  the  air." 

In  the  six  following  degrees  the  vibrations  in  each  second 
increase  from  32  to  52,768;  each  doubling  reproduces  the 
same  note  in  a  higher  octave.  The  normal  diapason,  which 
gives  us  the  note  la  (or  F),  is  a  vibration  of  455  a  second,  and 
has  876  vibrations  when  doubled.  The  sharpest  sound  has 
about  56,000  vibrations,  and  the  region  of  sound  ends  there, 
so  far  as  the  human  ear  is  concerned.  But  probably  some 
animals,  better  gifted  than  ourselves,  may  hear  sounds  too 


'Luminous  rays,  caloric  and  chemical,  spectra  of  the  infra-red  to  the 
ultra-violet. 

1(^ 


ON    INCREDULITY 

acute  for  onr  organs — that  is,  sounds  the  rapidity  of  whose 
vibrations  overpass  onr  limits. 

We  reach  at  length  a  region  where  the  swiftness  of  vibra- 
tions increases  rapidly,  and  the  vibrating  medium  is  not  our 
own  gross  atmosphere,  but  something  infinitely  more  subtle, 
"an  air  divine,"  called  ether.  Then  there  are  vibrations  of  a 
kind  unknown  to  us.  Beyond  this  we  penetrate  into  spheres 
where  the  rays  are  electrical.' 

Next  comes  the  region  which  extends  from  the  35th  to  the 
45th  degree,  making  from  34,000,000,000  and  359,000,000  to 
35,000,000,000,000,000,000  and  1,840,000,000  (or  milliards) 
vibrations  a  second.  It  is  all  unknown  to  us.  We  are 
ignorant  concerning  the  functions  of  these  vibrations,  but  it 
would  be  difficult  to  deny  that  they  exist  and  that  they  do 
their  work  somewhere  in  the  universe. 

And  now  we  approach  the  region  of  light,  this  is  represented 
by  the  figures  between  the  48th  and  50th  order.  The  sensa- 
tion of  light — in  other  words,  the  vibrations  which  transmit  to 
us  visible  signs — is  comprised  within  the  narrow  space  between 
about  400  trillions  (red  light)  and  756  trillions  (violet  light), 
which  is  less  than  a  degree. 

The  phenomena  of  nature  which  are  going  on  constantly 
around  us,  are  accomplished  by  the  action  of  forces  to  us 
invisible.  Watery  vapor,  whose  work  has  so  great  an  influence 
on  climatology,  is  invisible;  so  is  heat,  so  is  electricity. 
Chemical  rays  are  invisible.  The  solar  spectrum,  which  repre- 
sents the  luminous  rays  visible  to  the  human  eye,  is  now 
known  to  every  one.     If  a  ray  of  sunlight  is  caused  to  pass 

*  The  bursting  of  a  Leyden  jar  across  a  spool  of  very  long  fine  thread 
caused  electromagnetic  vibrations,  whose  length,  noted  down  by  Helm- 
holtz  (1869)  and  after  him  by  other  observers,  may  be  comprised  between 
1000  and  10,000  a  second  for  the  usual  apparatus.  In  1888  Hertz  suc- 
ceeded in  reproducing  vibrations  of  the  same  kind,  100,000  a  second,  and 
in  studying  their  propagation.  These  vibrations  propagate  themselves 
in  space — in  other  words,  in  the  ether  which  distinguisljes  them  from  the 
vibrations  that  produce  sound,  which  are  propagated  in  the  ordinary  way, 
air,  water,  wood,  etc.,  etc.  It  is  reasonable  to  consider  them  analogous 
to  vibration  of  radiant  heat,  according  to  the  views  put  forth  by  Maxurle 
since  ISG?.    See  Sir  W.  Thomson  Conferences,  p.  189. 

17 


THE    UNKNOWN 

throngh  a  prism  we  obtain  when  it  issues  from  the  prism  a 
band  of  color  ranging  from  red  to  violet.  A  great  num- 
ber of  rays  extends  across  this  band,  the  principal  rays  being 
marked  from  A  to  H.,  tlieseare  lines  of  absorption  produced  by 
substances  that  are  being  consumed  in  the  sun^s  atmosphere, 
and  by  the  watery  vapor  in  the  atmospnere  of  the  earth. 
Thousands  of  millions  of  these  are  known  at  the  present  day. 

If  we  move  a  thermometer  to  the  left  of  the  visible  spectrum 
we  see  it  rise  beyond  the  red  line,  and  this  proves  to  us  that 
there  are  caloric  rays  to  us  invisible. 

If  we  place  a  photographic  plate  to  the  right  of  the  spectrum, 
beyond  the  violet  line,  we  shall  see  it  take  an  impression,  and 
the  presence  of  very  active  chemical  rays,  to  us  invisible,  are 
thereby  denoted.  Here  comes  in  an  important  remark  :  in- 
visible bodies  may  become  visible;  thus  uraniumand  sulphate 
of  quinine  become  visible  in  the  dark,  if  under  radiations  of 
very  ultra  violet  rays. 

These  rays  are  now  classed  by  the  length  of  their  waves — 
that  is,  by  the  space  traversed  by  the  wave  during  the  length 
of  a  period  of  vibration.  Although  the  wave  lengths  of  the 
radiations  are  infinite,  it  has  been  possible  by  help  of  lines 
of  diffraction  grating  to  measure  them  with  great  precision. 

The  unit  employed  is  the  ten-millionth  part  of  a  milli- 
meter. 

VISIBLE   SOLAR  SPECTRUM 

_  ,  Length  ol  the  Vibrations  bv  Trillions 

^°'°'"-  Wave.  in  a  Second. 

Bright  red 734.. 460 

Limit  of  red  and  orange 647 490 

Limit  of  orange  and  yellow .  587 558 

Limit  of  yellow  and  green .  535 590 

Limit  of  green  and  blue —  492 596 

Limit  of  blue  and  indigo. , .  456 675 

Limit  of  indigo  and  violet.  424 760 

Bright  violet 397 756 

The  part  below  the  invisible  red  is  caloric.  Length  of  the 
wave  from  1940  to  734. 

Part  in  the  ultra-violet  is  invisible — chemical.  Length  of 
the  wave  from  397  to  295. 

18 


ON    INCREDULITY 

The  first  of  these  two  invisible  spectrums  has  been  deter- 
mined with  great  precision  by  the  American  astronomer 
Langley,  by  the  aid  of  an  instrument  of  his  own  invention, 
called  the  bolometer.^  In  this  region,  invisible  to  us,  a  large 
part  of  the  sun^s  energy  is  expended.  The  part  of  this  spec- 
trum already  explored  is  sixteen  times  more  extensive  than 
the  visible  spectrum. 

Besides  this,  the  French  physician,  Edmond  Becquerel, 
photographed  long  ago  the  chemical  spectrum."  This  spec- 
trum, which  has  been  the  object  of  much  study  ever  since, 
is  about  twice  as  extensive  as  the  visible  spectrum. 

Leaving  the  region  of  the  solar  spectrum  which  has  been 
studied,  we  turn  to  what,  for  our  senses  and  our  means  of 
research,  is  another  unknoiun  region,  and  to  functions  we 
can  barely  divine.  It  seems  probable  that  Rontgen  rays  may- 
be discovered  between  the  58th  and  61st  degrees,  where  the 
vibrations  are  from  288,230,376,151,711,744  to  2,305,843,009,- 
213,693,952  a  second,  or  even  more. 

We  can  see  that  in  this  series  there  are  several  blank 
spaces,  regions  about  which  we  as  yet  know  absolutely  noth- 
ing. Who  can  say  that  these  vibrations  do  not  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  general  economy  of  the  universe  ? 

Also  may  there  not  be  vibrations  still  more  rapid  beyond 
where  the  preceding  series  was  discontinued  ? 

The  space  we  live  in  has  three  dimensions.  Beings  who 
might  live  in  a  space  of  two  dimensions  on  the  outside  of  a 
circle — for  example,  on  a  plane — would  only  understand  geom- 
etry of  two  dimensions ;  they  could  not  pass  beyond  the  line 
which  limits  a  circle  or  a  square  ;  they  would  be  imprisoned 
by  a  circumference  with  no  possibility  of  escape.  Give  them 
a  third  dimension,  with  the  power  to  move  about  in  it,  and 
they  would  then  pass  over  the  line  without  breaking  it  or 
touching  it.  The  six  surfaces  in  a  closed  room — viz.,  four 
walls,  the  floor,  and  the  ceiling — imprison  us,  but  give  ns  a 
fourth  dimension,  and  endue  us  with  the  power  to  live  in 

'  See  the  Bulletin  de  la  SocUte  Astronomique  de  France,  year  1895,  p. 
110.     See  also  1897,  p.  307. 
*  See  La  LumUre,  Paris,  1868,  vol.  i.,  p.  131. 

19 


THE    UNKNOWN 

it,  and  escape  from  our  prison  as  easily  as  a  man  can  step 
over  a  line  drawn  on  the  ground.  We  can  no  more  conceive 
this  excess  of  space  (n\)  than  a  being  only  fitted  to  move 
about  on  a  plane  (71^)  can  conceive  of  cubic  space  (71^) ;  but 
we  are  not  authorized  to  declare  that  it  does  not  exist.  Even 
in  our  earthly  life  there  are  certain  faculties  man  cannot  ex- 
plain, certain  senses  that  we  know  nothing  about.  How 
do  the  pigeon  and  the  swallow  know  how  to  find  their  way 
back  to  their  nests  ?  How  does  a  dog  get  home  from  a  long 
distance  by  a  road  that  he  has  never  travelled  ?  I  have  else- 
where demonstrated  that  the  inhabitants  of  other  worlds 
must  be  endowed  with  faculties  very  different  from  ours.  We 
know  nothing  absolutely.  All  our  judgments  are  relative, 
and,  therefore,  partial  and  incomplete. 

Scientific  sagacity  consists  in  being  very  careful  how  we 
deny  the  possibility  of  anything.  We  have  a  right  to  be  diffi- 
dent. Let  ns  say  with  Arago  that  ^'  doubt  is  a  proof  of  mod- 
esty, and  that  it  has  seldom  hindered  the  progress  of  science. 
We  cannot  say  the  same  of  incredulity.'' 

There  are  still  a  vast  number  of  things  not  yet  explained, 
which  belong  to  the  domain  of  the  nnknown.  The  phenom- 
ena of  which  we  are  about  to  speak  are  of  this  number. 
Telepathy,  or  sensations  transmitted  from  a  distance ;  appari- 
tions, or  manifestations  that  have  emanated  from  dying  per- 
sons; the  transmission  of  thought;  what  has  been  seen  in 
dreams,  and  in  a  state  of  somnambulism,  without  the  aid  of 
eyes,  such  as  landscapes,  towns,  and  monuments  beheld  from 
a  great  distance  ;  prescience,  or  premonition  of  an  approach- 
ing event ;  warnings,  presentiments,  a  few  extraordinary 
cases  of  magnetism,  puerile  sayings  rapped  out  on  tables, 
unexplicable  noises  which  seem  to  prove  a  house  was 
haunted,  the  raising  or  up-lifting  of  bodies  contrary  to  the  law 
of  gravitation,  objects  moved  without  being  touched  by 
hands,  things  which  seemed  to  indicate  superhuman  strength, 
things  which  seem  absurd,  spiritual  manifestations,  appar. 
ent  or  real,  disembodied  spirits,  spirits  of  all  kinds — and 
many  other  wild  phenomena  as  yet  unexplicable,  merit  our 
interest  and  our    scientific  attention.     Let  us  in  the  first 

20 


/ 

ON    INCREDULITY 

place  be  quite  convinced  that  all  we  can  really  study  and  ob- 
serve with  profit  must  be,  not  superhuman,  but  natural,  and 
that  we  must  examine  all  facts  quietly  and  scientifically, 
without  connecting  them  with  the  mysterious,  without  ex- 
citement and  without  mysticism,  as  if  we  were  investigat- 
ing problems  in  astronomy,  physics,  or  physiology.  Every- 
thing is  to  be  found  in  nature,  the  known  and  the  unknown, 
and  there  is  no  such  thing  as  the  supernatural.  That  word 
has  no  meaning.'  Eclipses,  comets,  and  strange  stars  were 
formerly  considered  supernatural  signs  of  divine  wrath,  be- 
fore men  were  acquainted  with  their  laws.  Very  often  things 
are  called  supernatural  which  are  only  wonderful,  inexplica- 
ble, or  extraordinary.  When  we  meet  with  such,  we  should 
say,  quietly,  ''this  belongs  to  the  unknown." 

Critics  who  may  think  they  see  in  this  work  a  return  to 
the  age  of  superstition  will  fall  into  a  grave  error.  Its  de- 
sign, on  the  contrary,  is  to  analyze  and  to  investigate. 

Those  who  say:  ''What  !  can  I  be  expected  to  believe  in 
things  impossible  ?  Never !  I  only  believe  in  the  laws  of 
nature,  and  those  laws  are  all  knoiun  laws."  Such  men  are 
like  the  simple  -  hearted  ancient  geographers  who  wrote  on 
their  maps  of  the  world,  beside  the  columns  of  Hercules 
(representing  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar),  ^'Mc  deficit  omnes" — 
here  ends  the  world. 

They  had  no  doubts  about  it;  they  never  suspected  that 
there  was  to  be  found  in  that  vast  western  watery  expanse, 
to  them  empty  and  unknown,  a- world  twice  as  large  as  that 
of  which  they  had  any  knowledge. 

All  our  human  knowledge  might  be  symbolically  represent- 
ed by  a  tiny  island  surrounded  by  a  limitless  ocean. 

There  is  much  yet — infinitely  much — for  us  to  learn. 

•  May  I  be  permitted  to  refer  in  this  conucction  to  my  own  work,  God 
in  Nature  f 


CHAPTER  II 

ON    CREDULITY 

^'  Allez  wus  laver,  et  'niangez  de  Vherbe." — Words  from  the  '  Lnmaculate 
Couceptioa  "  at  Louides. 

Our  first  chapter,  on  Incredulity,  has  shown  ns  how  reluc- 
tant human  nature  is  in  general  to  accept  facts  unexplained, 
or  new  ideas  of  any  kind,  and  what  an  impediment  this  men- 
tal inertia  has  been  to  the  advancement  of  our  knowledge 
concerning  nature  and  the  race  of  man.  But  happily  there 
have  been  men  like  Copernicus,  Galileo,  Kepler,  Newton, 
Herschel,  Papin,  Fulton,  Galvanic  Volta,  Palissy,  Ampere, 
Arago,  Niepce,  Daguerre,  Fraunhofer,  Kirchoff,  Presnel,  and 
Le  Verrier — investigators  and  men  of  independent  minds. 
*^  An  eternal  law  of  honor  obliges-  science  to  look  fearlessly 
and  carefully  into  every  problem  which  is  properly  presented 
to  her,"  once  said  Sir  William  Thomson,  one  of  the  most 
eminent  physicists  of  our  time,  and  we  might  have  taken 
these  words  as  an  appropriate  motto  for  this  volume.  But 
in  difficult,  obscure,  uncertain  questions  another  duty  de- 
volves on  us — viz.f  that  of  examining  and  analyzing  things 
with  the  most  severe  circumspection,  and  of  admitting  noth- 
ing, as  indeed  we  should  not  do  in  any  instance,  but  what 
is  certain.  We  must  not,  under  pretence  of  progress,  re- 
place systematic  credulity  by  a  credulity  not  supported  by 
any  critical  sense  ;  and  possibly  it  may  be  useful,  before  en- 
tering more  fully  into  our  subject,  to  here  show  by  a  few  ex- 
amples how  we  should  be  upon  our  guard  against  excess  in 
another  direction,  not  less  blameworthy,  not  less  dangerous 
than  its  opposite  error. 

Human  nature,  we  may  remark,  is  made  up  most  surpris- 


ON    CREDULITY 

ingly  of  opposite  qualities.  If  there  are  men  who  believe  in 
nothing,  there  are  as  many  men  who  are  ready  to  put  faith  in 
anything.  The  credulity  of  men  and  women  seems  to  have 
no  limits.  Stupid  superstitions,  wild  as  those  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  have  been  Avritten  about,  accepted,  and  defended  by 
learned  men.  And  what  is  very  singular  is  that  the  most 
sceptical  minds  have  frequently  become  dupes  of  the  most 
audacious  falsehoods,  and  have  upheld  the  most  pernicious 
and  amazing  inanities.  One  glance  of  investigation  will  show 
us  that  the  human  race  contains  as  many  persons  prone  to 
credulity  as  to  incredulity,  for  each  faction  is  duped  by  its 
own  way  of  looking  at  things. 

In  this  matter  we  have  only  Vembarras  du  choix,  examples 
being  so  numerous  that  we  can  pick  them  up  anywhere. 

Who  does  not  remember  the  story  of  the  Golden  Tooth 
mentioned  by  Fontenelle  in  his  Histoire  des  Oracles  9  It  may 
be  somewhat  ancient,  but  it  is  typical  of  things  that  have 
happened  even  in  our  own  day.  In  1595  a  rumor  was  circu- 
lated that  the  first  teeth  of  a  child  of  seven,  in  Silesia,  having 
come  out  of  his  mouth  (as  children's  teeth  do  at  that  age),  it 
was  found  that  in  place  of  one  of  his  double  teeth  he  had  a 
tooth  of  gold.  Horstius,  professor  of  medicine  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Helmstad,  wrote  the  history  of  this  tooth  in  1595, 
declaring  that  it  was  partly  natural  and  partly  miraculous, 
and  that  it  had  been  sent  by  God  to  this  young  child  to  con- 
sole Christians  for  the  ravages  of  the  Turks.  One  does  not 
see  exactly  the  relation  between  the  tooth  and  the  Turks,  but 
the  explanation  was  at  once  accepted  seriously.  In  the  same 
year  Rullandus  wrote  a  second  account  of  the  tooth,  and  two 
years  later  Ingolsterus,  another  savant,  published  a  third, 
contradicting  the  first  two  treatises  in  many  particulars. 
^'  Another  great  man,  named  Libabius,"  says  Fontenelle,  "  col- 
lected all  that  had  been  said  about  the  tooth,  and  to  what 
others  had  written  added  his  own  individual  impressions. 
Nothing  was  wanting  in  the  story  as  put  forth  in  these 
learned  works,  except  proof  that  the  tooth  was  really  a  tooth 
of  gold.  When  at  last  a  goldsmith  examined  it  he  found 
that  a  bit  of  gold-leaf  had  been  very  skilfully  applied  to  the 

23 


THE    UNKNOWN 

child's  natural  tooth.  But  books  had  been  written  and 
theories  constructed  on  the  subject  before  any  one  had 
thought  of  consulting  a  goldsmith  !"  There  has  been  more 
than  one  ^'  gold  tooth  ''  in  the  annals  of  credulity,  both  ancient 
and  modern. 

Do  you  also  remember  the  story  of  the  rat  with  a  trunk 
like  an  elephant  or  tapir  ?  Half  a  century  ago  a  very  learned 
naturalist  was  made  the  victim  of  a  hoax  concerning  this  new 
variety. 

A  zouave  in  Africa,  who  had  little  to  do  in  the  service  of 
his  government,  amused  himself  by  animal  grafting,  which 
he  practised  upon  rats.  He  transferred  a  bit  of  a  rat's  tail 
to  its  nose,  and  the  junction  succeeded  perfectly,  as  the 
same  operation  succeeds  when  a  new  nose  is  made  upon  a 
human  face  by  a  bit  of  skin  taken  from  the  forehead.  A 
very  learned  man  belonging  to  the  Museum  of  Paris  paid  a 
large  price  for  the  first  rat,  which  was  sent  him  as  a  specimen 
of  a  new  species.  Others  were  forwarded  to  him,  for  which 
he  also  paid  a  generous  sum  ;  nor  was  he  undeceived  until 
he  attempted  to  increase  the  new  breed  of  rodents  by  the 
association  of  males  and  females ;  their  progeny  had  no 
trunks,  they  were  only  ordinary  vulgar  rats  of  the  known 
species. 

We  may  here  observe  that  the  man  of  science  being 
strictly  honest  (for  there  would  be  no  science  without 
honesty),  was  not  in  the  habit  of  mistrusting  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  specimens  he  worked  upon,  and  it  is  more  easy 
to  dupe  such  men  than  to  deceive  others.  In  astronomy, 
chemistry,  physics,  and  geology,  as  well  as  in  natural  history, 
there  are  no  scientific  men  who  ever  practise  deception.  A 
mathematician  or  geometrician  always  believes  that  2  and  2 
make  4,  and  that  the  three  angles  of  a  triangle  are  equal  to 
two  right-angles.  Unhappily,  this  confidence  is  not  applicable 
to  business  nor  to  politics,  nor  to  the  usual  vocations  of  people 
in  this  world. 

I  once  knew  an  eminent  geometrician,  one  of  the  most 
learned  professors  of  the  Ecole  Polytechnique,  a  member  of 
the  Institute,  a  man  greatly  distinguished,  and  highly  re- 

24 


ON    CREDULITY 

spected  both  for  his  intellect  and  for  his  moral  qualities.  But 
he  was   the  dupe  of  the  most  audacious  fraud   than  can  be 
well  imagined,  and  might  stand  as  the  perfect  type  of  a  man 
whose  credulity  could   be  beyond  belief.      A  skilful  forger, 
named  Vrain-Lucas,  knowing  his  enthusiasm  as   a  collector 
of  autographs,    actually  sold  him,  at  immense  prices,  false 
autographs   of    Pascal,    Newton,  Galileo,  Henry   IV.,    and 
Francis   I.;    emboldened    by   success,  he  subsequently  sold 
him  letters  of  Charlemagne,  and  at  last  the  autographs  of 
Vercingetorix  !  ...   of    Pythagoras !  .  ,  .    of  Archimedes  ! 
...  of    Cleopatra  !      Nay,  he  went   so   far  as   to    sell  him 
letters  of  Lazarus,   who  was  raised    from  the  dead,  of  Mary 
Magdelen,  and  even,  I  think,  of  our  Saviour  !    In  the  course 
of    seven  years,    1862   to  1869,    M.  Michel  Chasles   bought 
from  this    imposter  27,000   such  autographs,    for  the  good 
round    sum    of   140,000  francs  !     Notwithstanding  the  skill 
and   ability  of  the  forger,   there  were    from   the   first  little 
things  in  the  letters  that  should  have  thrown  doubt  on  their 
authenticity.    I  remember  among  others  a  letter  of  Galileo's, 
in  which  he  said  that  probably  a  remote  planet  might  be  found 
by  observations  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Saturn.  The  man  thus 
had  the  audacity  to  make  Galileo  predict  in  1640  the  dis- 
covery of  Uranus,    made  by    Herschel    in    1781,    and  con- 
founding the  orbit  with  the  celestial  body  that  traversed   it; 
the  great  Italian  astronomer  was  made   to   say  that  the  new 
planet  would  be  found  behind  Saturn.      I  amused  myself  by 
calculating  the   position   of    Uranus  at   the  time  the  letter 
was  supposed  to  have  been  written.     It  was  not  even  in  the 
same  part  of  the  heavens  as  Saturn.     I  drew  out  a  diagram, 
and   went  straight  to   the  great  geometrician  to  show  him 
what  nonsense   Galileo  had   been   made  to  say.     To  my  im- 
mense  astonishment  M.  Chasles   replied  that  ^'that  proved 
nothing,"  and  that  he  was  sure  of  the  authenticity  of  Galileo's 
letter.     He  showed  it  to  me.     It  was  in  a  handwriting  re- 
sembling that  of  Galileo,  written  on  old  yellow  paper,  with 
water-marks,  and  it  was  folded  and  covered  with  post-marks 
of  that  period.     The  deception  was  really  complete.     But  to 
have  made  an  astronomer  sav  that  Uranus  was  to  be   sought 

35 


THE    UNKNOWN 

for  behind  Saturn,  a  thing  that  only  a  school-boy  could  have 
asserted,  was  too  much.  The  autograph  collector  became 
so  blind  that  he  purchased,  a  few  months  later,  for  ready 
money,  a  pass  written  by  Yercingetorix,  in  French !  for 
''the  Emperor  Julius  Csesar/^  I  do  not  think  there  can  be 
a  more  striking  example  of  credulity  to  be  met  with  else- 
where. In  all  such  cases  we  may  find  a  sharp  object-lesson 
which  we  should  do  well  to  remember. 

I  address  this  warning  to  those  who  are  less  learned  than 
my  friend  the  collector,  but  who  think  themselves  much 
wiser,  people  who  say  with  confidence,  ''  Such  a  thing  could 
never  happen  to  me !''  No  doubt  it  seems  hard  to  slip  suddenly 
down  such  a  descent.  ^"But  I  have  more  than  once  observed 
that  those  who  think  themselves  the  wisest  have  their  weak 
points.  Some  could  not,  for  instance,  eat  a  comfortable  din- 
ner if  there  were  thirteen  at  table ;  some  touch  metal  as  soon 
as  they  apprehend  a  misfortune;  some  fear  that  they  will 
fall  ill  if  they  break  a  looking-glass;  some  shudder  if  a  salt- 
cellar is  upset  near  them,  or  if  two  knives  are  laid  across  each 
other,  etc.  Persons  have  told  me  seriously,  that  changes  of  the 
moon  had  an  influence  on  eggs,  on  women,  on  wine  in  bottles, 
on  the  growth  of  hair,  and  on  the  cutting  down  of  timber. 
We  need  not  be  too  sure  of  our  wisdom  ! 

How  many  persons  still  object  to  start  upon  a  journey  on 
a  Friday,  or  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  the  month?  Look  at 
the  receipts  of  railroads,  tramways,  and  omnibus  lines,  and 
you  will  be  astonished  at  the  falling  off  on  those  days.  Visit 
Paris  and  amuse  yourself  by  looking  round  you,  and  you  will 
see  how  few  houses  have  number  13  in  our  streets,  boule- 
vards, and  avenues;  you  will  then  remark  how  this  unwelcome 
number  has  been  replaced  by  11  Us.  This  reminds  us  of  the 
bi-sextile  years  in  Rome,  when  a  day  was  added  surreptitiously 
at  the  end  of  February,  but  it  had  no  name,  that  it  might 
be  overlooked  hy  the  gods!  And  have  we  never  met  per- 
sons who  consult  mediums  of  reputation  at  the  Foire  des 
Jamhons  9 

Our  ancestors  in  the  Stone  Age  and  the  Age  of  Bronze 
trembled  before  all  the  forces  of  nature;  they  turned  these 

36 


ON    CREDULITY 

forces  into  divinities,  and  peopled  fields,  forests,  fountains, 
valleys,  caverns,  grottos,  and  cottages  with  imaginary  beings, 
whose  memory  to  this  day  has  not  entirely  disappeared,  and 
who  have  left  to  us  moderns  an  inheritance  of  superstition. 
There  are  such  popular  beliefs  everywhere,  and  the  most  ab- 
surd prejudices  still  influence  the  actions  of  a  large  part  of 
the  human  race. 

There  are  people  who  persist  in  believing,  as  their  ancestors 
did  in  the  days  of  the  Romans,  that  it  is  possible  to  avert 
storms  by  the  tricks  of  sorcery.  In  1870,  in  a  village  near 
Issoire,  in  the  Puy  de  Dome,  a  priest  had  the  reputation  of 
being  able  to  protect  his  parish,  and  to  send  wind  and  hail 
storms  over  into  other  parts  of  the  country.  He  might  be 
seen,  when  a  storm  was  threatening,  at  a  window  in  the  belfry 
of  his  church,  making  his  incantations.  When  he  died  he 
was  replaced  by  a  cure  who,  unfortunately,  entered  on  his 
functions  just  before  a  violent  storm.  The  peasants,  seeing 
the  storm  approach,  had  implored  him  to  avert  it,  but  he  had 
not  done  so.  From  that  day  forward  the  nickname  of  grUe- 
roux  (accomplice  of  the  hail)  was  bestowed  on  him,  and  the 
people  of  his  parish  became  so  opposed  to  him  that  the  bishop 
had  to  remove  him  elsewhere. 

An  old  sailor  living  at  Toulon,  had,  in  1885,  the  reputation 
of  being  able  to  call  up  a  storm  on  the  day  fixed  for  the 
faithful  to  go  to  Mount  Sicie  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Notre  Dame 
du  Mai.  People  believed  so  firmly  in  his  power  that  they 
carefnlly  concealed  the  date  on  which  they  proposed  to  make 
the  pilgrimage. 

We  might  give  other  examples.  The  patron  saint  of 
Vieux-Beausset  near  Toulon,  is  St.  Eiitropeus.  He  was 
held  to  have  power  to  bring  rain  ^uhen  he  pleased.  A  few 
years  ago,  one  day  in  May,  the  keeper  of  the  hermitage  in 
which  was  the  ancient  statue  of  the  saint,  took  him  down 
from  his  pedestal,  put  him  in  the  doorway,  and  began  to  be- 
labor him  with  blows.  A  passer-by,  astonished  to  see  what 
he  was  about,  asked  the  reason.  ^'  Oh  !  moun  honan  mouss2i/' 
replied  the  sacristan,  "  si  lou  menavi  pas  ensin  n'en  pourrie 
renfairey"  which  being  interpreted  is,  "  Oh  !  my  good  sir,  if 


THE    UNKNOWN 

I  did  not  treat  him  this  way  I  could  do  nothing  with  him." 
Soon  after  this  rain  fell,  and  the  crops  were  saved. 

On  the  15th  of  July,  1899,  near  Albertville,  in  Savoy,  the 
cure  of  Thenesol  blessed  a  new  cross,  ''  the  Cross  of  la  belle 
]fitoile,''  re-erected  at  the  altitude  of  1856  metres  to  replace 
the  old  cross  which  had  been  burned  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  neighboring  commune  of  Scythenex,  because  they  fancied 
that  it  kept  off  hail  from  the  commune  of  Mercury-Germilly, 
in  which  it  stood,  which  was  not  to  their  advantage.  Three 
hundred  people  were  present  on  the  occasion,  having  made 
the  journey  in  terribly  hot  weather. 

M.  Berenger-Ferard  relates  in  his  interesting  collection 
entitled  Superstitions  et  Survivances,  that  in  certain  parts  of 
Province  midwives  have  an  infallible  recipe  for  curing  chil- 
dren of  whooping-cough.  The  child  must  be  passed  seven 
times  in  succession  under  the  belly  of  an  ass,  from  right  to 
left,  and  never  from  left  to  right.  There  are  asses  in  the 
country  much  renowned  for  their  curative  powers.  A  very 
good  one  was  owned  in  the  village  of  Luc,  a  few  years  ago,  and 
its  reputation  was  so  great  that  children  were  brought  to  it  from 
thirty  miles  around,  from  Draguignan  and  even  from  Cannes. 

The  same  authority  tells  us  that  one  of  his  friends  having  in 
1887  visited  a  monastry  in  a  certain  great  city  of  Provence, 
remembered  that  the  statue  of  St.  Joseph,  which  had  long 
stood  in  the  parlor  of  the  community,  had  its  face  turned  to 
the  wall.  He  supposed  at  first  that  some  careless  servant  had 
misplaced  the  saint,  but,  on  asking  about  it,  was  informed 
that  St.  Joseph  was  being  punished  for  not  having  granted 
the  prayers  that  had  been  addressed  to  him.  The  visitor 
inquired  further,  and  was  told  that  he  had  been  asked  to  in- 
spire a  certain  neighbor,  who  was  very  pious,  with  the  idea  of 
leaving  in  his  will  a  piece  of  land  to  the  community,  which 
it  was  very  important  for  it  to  possess.  The  pious  neighbor 
had  likewise  been  informed  that  "  if  St.  Joseph  remained  deaf 
to  the  prayers  of  the  community  he  would  be  put  down  into  the 
cellar  and  there  flogged.'^  The  author  adds:  ''  I  could  hardly 
believe  my  ears,  and  yet  I  had  to  accept  the  evidence  of  facts, 
for  more  than  twenty  persons  afterwards  assured  me  that 


ON    CREDULITY 

they  knew  of  such  a  castigation  having  been  inflicted  on  the 
saint.  I  also  learned  further  that  in  certain  towns  of  the 
Bouches  du  Rhone,  in  the  Lyonnais,  and  even  in  Paris,  this 
practice  had  been  put  in  force  in  the  same  community.  All 
these  things  taken  together  make  it  impossible  to  doubt  the 
punishment  of  refractory  saints,  however  astonishing  it  may 
appear  to  be." 

At  Toulon,  about  1850,  a  woman  having  a  very  sick  child 
prayed  before  a  superb  ivory  crucifix  that  she  possessed,  and 
which  she  held  in  the  greatest  reverence  and  regard.  It 
probably  was  part  of  the  pillage  of  some  nobleman's  chateau 
during  the  Revolution,  for  it  was  of  great  artistic  value. 
But  the  child  died  notwithstanding  the  mother's  prayers, 
neuvaines,  and  wax  tapers  that  she  burned  upon  the  altar. 
In  her  despair  the  woman  seized  the  crucifix,  and  said  to  the 
figure  that  hung  on  it : 

*' Deceiver!  is  it  thus  thou  wouldst  answer  my  prayers? 
Then  see  what  I  will  do  to  thee  !" 

And  suiting  her  action  to  her  words,  she  flung  the  cruci- 
fix out  of  an  open  window. 

Saint  Simon  relates  in  his  memoirs  that,  at  the  siege  of 
Namur,  in  1692,  it  rained  so  heavily  on  St.  Midard's  day  (the 
French  St.  Swithin),  that  the  soldiers  infuriated  because  it 
portended  forty  days  of  rain,  turned  their  anger  against  the 
saint,  and  burned  every  image  and  picture  of  him  that  fell 
into  their  hands. 

Sometimes  such  matters  were  treated  in  a  spirit  of  gayety, 
even  when  a  neuvaine,  or  perhaps  two,  did  not  put  a  stop 
to  rain.  In  the  days  when  Paris  attended  the  ^'hunt  of 
St.  Genevieve,"  her  statue  was  supposed  to  have  influence 
on  the  weather,  when  it  was  carried  in  procession  from  the 
church  of  St.  Etienne-du-Mont  to  Notre  Dame.  The  pro- 
cession one  day  had  hardly  started  when  rain  began  to  fall 
heavily.  **The  saint  has  made  a  mistake,"  whispered  the 
bishop  of  Castres  to  his  next  neighbor;  "she  fancies  we  are 
asking  her  for  rain." 

Baron  Hausser,  in  his  travels  in  Italy,  heard  the  following 
conversation  in  a  street  in  Naples  : 

29 


THE    UNKNOWN 

**  How  is  your  child  ?" 

''Not  any  better.     His  fever  is  still  bad." 

"You  must  have  a  taper  burned  to  St.  Gertrude." 

'*  I  have.     It  was  no  use." 

''What  chapel  did  you  go  to  ?" 

"  The  one  in  the  Via  di  Toledo." 

''Ah  !  my  poor  woman,  that  St.  Gertrude  is  the  very  worst 
in  all  Naples.  You  can  get  nothing  out  of  her.  Go  to  the 
church  in  the  Piazza  dei  Capucini.  You  will  see  that  that 
St.  Gertrude  is  much  kinder  to  poor  people." 

In  that  same  city  of  Naples,  those  who  have  been  present 
at  the  miracle  of  the  liquification  of  the  blood  of  St.  Jan- 
uarius,  know  how  many  of  the  faithful  among  the  spectators 
grow  nervous  and  impatient  when  it  is  slow  to  appear. 
In  1872  I  came  near  getting  myself  into  trouble  by  looking 
too  closely  at  the  famous  reliquary  exposed  to  the  adoration 
of  the  crowd.  Everybody  knows  the  story  of  General  Cham- 
pionnet  in  1799. 

A  few  years  since,  when  visiting  the  crypt  of  the  Vierge 
Noire,  at  Chartres,  I  entered  for  a  moment  into  conversation 
with  a  peasant  woman  who  was  coming  out  of  the  church. 
"Oh,  monsieur,"  she  said,  "this  Virgin  is  not  so  great  a 
lady  as  Notre  Dame  des  Victoires,  in  Paris,  but  she  listens 
much  more  favorably  to  us."  This  opinion  reminded  me  of 
Louis  XL  taking  from  the  band  of  his  hat  the  little  leaden 
image  of  Notre  Dame  d'Embrun,  replacing  it  by  that  of 
Notre  Dame  de  Cleri,  and  addressing  to  the  latter  at  once 
his  royal  prayers,  with  full  confidence  that  she  would  hear 
him. 

Popular  superstitions  are  so  widespread  that  one  meets 
them  everywhere.  I  was  passing  not  long  ago  through  an 
old  village  built  in  the  Middle  Ages,  perched  like  an  eagle's 
nest  on  a  rugged  mountain  in  the  Department  of  the  Alpes- 
Maritimes,  and  when  I  went  into  the  church  the  physician  of 
the  place,  a  learned  archaeologist,  who  was  with  me,  pointed 
out  to  me  a  box  into  which  the  faithful  flung  little  notes, 
accompanied  by  some  small  offering,  addressed  to  St.  An- 
thony of  Padua,  whom  they  implored  to  help  them  to  recover 

30 


ON    CREDULITY 

lost  things.     The  answer  came  back,  very  often  written  on 
the  same  paper  as  the  note,  and  placed  in  a  niche  very  near. 

Credulity  takes  all  forms.  The  superstitions  which  relate 
to  customs,  and  so  forth,  concerning  marriages,  are  among 
the  most  numerous  and  surprising,  and  it  may  be  interesting 
to  mention  some  of  them. 

In  the  village  of  Banduen,  in  Provence,  there  is  a  rock 
which  forms  an  inclined  plane.  On  the  fete  day  of  the  pa- 
tron saint  of  the  district,  young  girls  who  wish  to  be  married 
have  from  time  immemorial  come  to  slide  down  this  rock, 
which  is  now  as  polished  as  marble. 

In  the  village  of  St.  Aurs,  in  the  Basses  -  Alpes,  there  is 
another  stone  down  which  young  girls  slide  who  wish  to  find 
a  husband,  and  young  wives  who  wish  to  bear  a  son. 

At  Loches,  barren  women  come  and  slide  down  the  '^grind- 
stone of  St.  Aurs,''  a  stone  like  those  at  Banduen  and  the 
Basses-Alpes.  This  practice  is  far  older  than  the  present 
day.  Is  was  in  use  in  ancient  Greece,  and  is  still  in  great 
favor  in  Tunis. 

The  piU  .'image  to  Sainte  Baume,  between  Marseilles  and 
Toulon,  has,  for  a  thousand  years,  been  held  to  promote  mar- 
riage and  to  insure  children.  It  is  the  object  of  most  sin- 
cere devotion  among  the  peasant  women  of  Provence. 

In  many  parts  of  France  young  girls  who  wish  to  be  mar- 
ried fling  willow  leaves  or  wooden  pegs  into  fountains.  If 
the  leaf  swims  straight  with  the  current,  or  if  the  peg  floats, 
the  young  lady  will  be  sought  in  marriage  before  the  end  of 
the  year. 

Near  Guerande,  in  Brittany,  young  girls  put  bits  of  pink 
wool  into  crevices  in  Druidical  stones,  that  they  may  be  mar- 
ried within  a  year. 

At  St.  Junien-des-Courbes  in  the  Haute -Vienne,  they 
invoke  St.  Eutropius,  and  hang  a  garter  from  their  left  leg 
upon  a  cross. 

In  the  little  town  of  Oisans  in  the  Isere  they  go  in  the 
month  of  June  to  a  chapel  on  the  mountain  of  Brandes,  near 
which  is  a  tall  stone  in  the  shape  of  a  sugar  loaf;  they  kneel 
before  it,  touching  it  devoutly  with  their  knees. 

31 


THE    UNKNOWN 

At  Laval,  in  the  church  of  Avesnidres,  there  is  a  great 
statue  of  St.  Christopher,  in  whose  legs  young  girls  stick 
pins  if  they  wish  to  be  married  that  year. 

Near  Perros,  in  Normandy,  in  the  chapel  of  St.  Guiriez, 
girls  go  on  pilgrimages  to  get  married,  and  stick  pins  in  the 
saint's  nose  to  induce  him  to  favor  them. 

In  the  valley  of  Lunain,  in  the  Seine-et-Marne,  there  is  a 
Druid  stone  called  Pierre  f rite,  into  which  young  men  anxious 
to  marry  stick  nails  or  pins. 

Near  Troyes,  young  girls  who  want  a  husband  place  a  pin 
on  a  mound  called  the  Cross  of  Beigne. 

Near  Verdun,  wives  who  desire  to  have  children  go  and  sit 
upon  a  rock,  where  is  the  outline  of  a  sitting  woman.  The 
village  people  call  it  St.  Lucy's  chair.  They  believe  that  this 
act  will  be  favorable  to  their  wishes,  and  it  seems  that  Anne 
of  Austria  once  seated  herself  there  before  the  birth  of  Louis 
XIV.     There  is  a  similar  thing  at  Sampiques  in  the  Meuse. 

In  the  Ardennes  the  protection  of  St.  Philomena  is  of 
most  service  to  those  who  do  not  wish  to  be  old  maids ; — de 
coiffer  Ste.  Catherine. 

At  Bourges  not  long  ago  might  be  seen  in  the  Rue  Cheoriere 
in  the  Faubourg  du  Chateau,  a  statue  of  the  good  St.  Gre- 
luchon,  in  a  niche  in  the  wall  of  a  house,  from  which  wives 
desirous  of  maternity  used  to  scratch  the  dust  that  they  might 
make  a  drink  with  it  that  would  promote  fecundity.  At 
Poligny,  in  the  Jura,  young  wives  go  for  the  same  reason  to 
embrace  a  tall  stone,  which  tradition  says  is  the  petrifaction 
of  a  giant  who  once  tried  to  violate  a  young  maiden. 

At  Dourgues,  in  the  Tarn,  near  the  chapel  of  St.  Ferreol, 
are  rocks  with  holes  through  them  ; — if  lame  persons  or  para- 
lytics can  get  through  these  openings  they  will  be  cured.  In 
the  cellar  of  the  church  at  Kimperle  is  a  tall  upright  stone 
with  a  hole  in  it,  through  which  if  any  one  can  pass  he  is 
cured  of  headache.  In  the  Lande  of  Saint  Simeon,  in  the 
Orno,  sick  people  climb  over  a  Druid  stone  which  is  said  to 
have  virtue  to  cure  a  great  number  of  maladies. » 

*  Beranger-Ferand  Superditions  et  Survivances.    A  beautiful  story  by 


ON    CREDULITY 

M.  Martinel  found  almost  fifty  fountains  whose  wonderful 
properties  seem  to  have  been  held  in  respect  from  time  im- 
memorial. He  has  taken  great  pains  to  collect  the  legends 
of  Brittany  and  Berry,  where  such  stories  are  still  told  after 
dark  at  sewing-circles.  That  part  of  the  world  was  famous 
for  witches  who  held  intercourse  with  wolves,  for  were-wolves, 
and  for  fortune-tellers.  Certain  places  to  this  day  are  the 
object  of  superstitious  terrors  there  are  forests  full  of  witches, 
who  all  night  wash  their  clothes,  and  there  are  marshes  full  of 
will-o'-the-wisps.  At  nightfall  the  darkest  parts  of  the  woods 
are  filled  with  mysterious  noises,  lugubrious  phantoms  glide 
among  the  trees,  which  are  shaken  by  some  invisible  hand.  Woe 
to  the  mortal  who  strays  into  these  dark  retreats  !  He  will 
never  get  out  again. 

Villagers  and  cottagers  in  lower  Berry  still  believe  in  the 
existence  of  giants,  who  formerly  inhabited  the  country,  and 
who  raised  the  natural  or  artificial  mounds  so  numerous  in 
that  region,  These  giants  are  personified  Gargantua,  whose 
story  (popular  not  only  in  the  part  of  the  Indre  that  touches 
on  the  Creuse,  but  all  over  western  France)  was  known  long 
before  that  of  the  hero  of  Rabelais.  Rabelais  most  probably 
borrowed  the  myth  and  the  name  from  legends  in  Saintonge, 
Poitou,  and  lower  Berry,  places  where  he  lived  for  some  time. 

The  memory  of  the  fairy  folk  is  still  kept  fresh  in  many 
parts  of  Berry.  It  is  fairies  who  almost  everywhere  raised 
dolmens  and  menhirs,  {Dolmens  are  great  Druid  stones,  one 
stone  resting  on  the  top  of  two  others,  like  a  kind  of  altar, 
SiTid  menJiirs  are  tall  stones  standing  alone.)  These  stones, 
notwithstanding  their  enormous  weight,  the  fairies  carried 
in  their  gauze  aprons.  They  are  generally  spoken  of  as  Fades, 
Fadees,  Martes,  and  Marses.  In  some  places,  however,  they 
are  mentioned  with  respect  as  Dames  and  Demoiselles,  as 
they  are  in  southern  France.  They  may  be  seen  wandering 
about  at  night,  celebrating  mysterious  rites  in  grottos  and  on 
rocks,  round  the  dolmens  and  menliirs   scattered  over  the 

George  Sand,  less  known  than  it  deserves  to  be,  called  "Nanon,"  gives 
a  full  account  of  these  superstitions,  the  folk  lore,  and  the  fairy  lore  of 
rural  Berry.— The  Translator. 
c  33 


THE    UNKNOWN 

landscape  which  borders  on  the  wild  and  picturesque  country 
of  la  Creuze,  Bouzanne,  Anglin,  and  Portefeuille. 

Martcs  are  tall,  hideous  women,  very  lean,  scantily  clad, 
with  long,  black,  wiry  hair.  Their  breasts  are  flabby  and 
pendent.  From  the  top  of  the  slab  that  crowns  a  dolmen^  or 
from  the  uppermost  peak  upon  a  meiiliir,  they  often  call  at 
nightfall  to  the  shepherds  and  laborers,  and  if  these  do  not  at 
once  respond  to  their  advances,  they  rush  after  them,  flinging 
their  breasts  back  over  their  shoulders.  Woe  to  the  man  who 
does  not  fly  fast  enough  ;  they  will  force  him  to  submit  to 
their  vile  embraces.  Their  husbands,  brothers,  or  lovers  are 
called  Martes  also,  or  Marses,  and  are  the  giants  of  super- 
human strength  who  quarried  stones  for  the  dolmens  and 
the  menhirs. 

The  Fades  are  much  gentler  and  much  nicer  than  the 
Martes.  They  generally  occupy  themselves  with  the  flocks. 
It  is  their  charge  to  watch  over  the  many  treasures  hidden 
away  in  strange,  subterranean  places,  whose  entrance  is  closed 
by  the  menhirs  and  dolmens.  Their  power,  however,  only 
lasts  a  year.     It  expires  on  Palm  Sunday. 

At  Vertolaye,  in  Auvergne,  there  is  a  rocking  stone,  where 
mothers  bring  sickly  children  to  make  them  robust,  or, 
as  they  say,  solid  as  a  stone,  and  with  full  use  of  their 
limbs. 

Near  Saint  Valery-en-Caux  may  be  seen  on  the  beach  the 
ruins  of  an  ancient  chapel  to  St.  Leger,  nothing  of  which 
now  remains  but  its  square  belfry.  Weakly  children  are 
brought  to  it  and  made  to  walk  five  times  round  the  ruins, 
that  they  may  have  a  light  step. 

St.  Hubert  protects  hunters,  St.  Roch  cures  hydrophobia, 
St.  Corneille  takes  care  of  beasts,  St.  Cloud  cures  boils,  St. 
Aignan  cures  ringworm.  These  beliefs  are  very  ancient. 
Pausanias  relates  that  at  Hyetta,  in  Boeotia,  there  was  a 
temple  of  Hercules  with  a  rough  stone  which  cured  sick- 
ness, and  at  Alpenus  a  stone  consecrated  to  N"eptune  had 
the  same  property,  etc. 

I  have  sometimes  been  present,  in  the  environs  of  Paris,  at 
Morsang-sur-Orge,  not  far  from  Juvisy,  at  the  midsummer 

34 


ON    CREDULITY 

fete,  the  fete  of  the  summer  solstice,  St.  John's  Day.  This 
fete  was  once  pagan,  now  it  has  been  christianized,  but  it 
keeps  its  ancient  impress.  When  the  sun,  the  end  of  life, 
has  gone  down  into  the  bright  west,  and  twilight  spreads  over 
the  earth,  a  great  bonfire  is  prepared  on  the  open  square  be- 
fore the  church ;  a  beautiful  pine-tree  is  brought  from  the 
forest,  the' priest  comes  out  of  the  chnrch,  followed  by  the 
choristers  and  choir-boys,  and  after  he  has  blessed  the  pile 
made  ready  for  the  bonfire,  they  light  it,  and  the  flame  crackles 
and  ascends.  All  the  village  is  there.  The  boys  and  girls 
draw  near,  waiting  till  the  fire  has  burned  down ;  then  the 
girls  have  to  jump  over  the  hot  ashes  without  burning  them- 
selves. The  boldest  and  most  agile  is  most  applauded ;  she 
will  be  married  before  the  end  of  the  year.  Then  the  brands 
are  carried  off,  before  they  are  quite  consumed.  They  are 
kept  in  the  peasants'  cottages,  which  they  preserve  (like  the 
blessed  palms  brought  from  the  churches  on  Palm  Sunday) 
from  fire  and  lightning. 

Many  place  a  naive  confidence  in  these  customs,  handed 
down  by  tradition — traditions  as  old  as  the  days  of  the  Gauls 
and  Romans.  The  custom  has  been  kept  up  for  fifteen  or 
perhaps  eighteen  centuries.  The  St.  John's  fire  is  to  this 
day  lighted  in  almost  every  part  of  France ;  as  I  write,  I  say 
to  myself,  ^^am  I  not  writing  of  Gaul  ?'' 

Who  has  not  heard  of  the  little  cakes  called  the  crepes  of 
Chandeleur?  They  bring  good  luck  to  agriculture,  to  com- 
merce, and  to  all  other  enterprises ;  they  must  be  made  with- 
out fail  on  one  particular  day  (the  2d  of  February).  Napo- 
leon, before  he  left  for  Russia,  made  crepes,  and  said,  laughing, 
*^If  I  turn  over  this  one  safely  I  shall  win  my  first  battle; 
and  this  other  one  I  shall  win  the  second !"  He  turned  over 
one,  two,  three,  but  the  fourth  fell  in  the  fire — "  presaging,'' 
says  an  historian,  '^the  burning  of  Moscow." 

In  Berry,  at  la  Chatelette,  St.  Guignolet  makes  women 
bear  children ;  at  Bourges  this  office  is  done  for  them  by  St. 
Guerlichon;  at  Bourg-Dieu  it  is  St.  Guerlichon;  at  Vendres, 
in  the  Attier,  it  is  St.  Fontin ;  at  Auxerre,  St.  Faustin,  etc. 
In  spite  of  opposition  from  the  cures,  women  scratch  marble 

35 


THE    UNKNOWN 

dust  from  a  certain  part  of  the  bodies  of  these  saints,  and 
drink  this  dust  in  a  glass  of  water. 

At  Gargilesse,  in  the  Creuse,  when  the  cure  has  taken  down 
the  statue  of  St.  Guernichon,  which  had  long  stood  in  the 
church,  women  who  desire  to  become  mothers,  nov/  scratch 
the  marble  statue  on  the  tomb  of  Guillanme  de  Naillac,  which 
it  seems  is  getting  worn  away  by  the  new  use  it  is  put  to.  At 
Rocamadour,  in  the  Ronergne,  women  not  satisfied  with  their 
husbands,  go  to  the  church  door,  which  they  kiss,  and  at  the 
game  time  rattle  the  great  bolt,  or  else  they  touch  a  bar  of 
iron  called  the  sword  of  Roland. 

At  Antwerp,  women  afflicted  with  sterility  have  recourse  to 
the  holy  prepuce  of  Jesus  Christ,  sent  to  them  for  this  very 
purpose  from  Jerusalem  by  Godfrey  de  Bouillon,  Marquis  of 
Antwerp,  in  hope  of  making  their  ancient  pagan  worship  of 
^'  Le  Ters^'  an  object  of  piety,  known  under  another  name  to 
Roman  ladies.'  There  is  an  especial  brotherhood  devoted  to 
the  service  of  this  relic  of  the  circumcision,  a  feast  day  which 
once  most  illogically  began  our  Christian  calendar. 

In  many  provinces  of  France  the  people  still  believe  in 
various  kinds  of  sorcery.  In  Provence,  for  example,  they  be- 
lieve in  the  tying  of  knots  in  aiguillettes,  which  is  supposed  to 
prevent  the  consummation  of  a  marriage ;  in  Italy  they  be- 
lieve in  the  evil  eye,  and  in  Alsace  in  were-wolves.  They 
also  believe  in  charms,  which  can  annul  enchantments.  At 
Toulon  dress-makers  sew  salt  into  the  hems  of  wedding-dresses, 
salt  being  supposed  to  insure  the  future  happiness  of  the 
newly  married  pair. 

In  Paris  the  coffer  mark  has  also  its  adepts,  and,  as  in 
Rome  in  the  days  of  Tiberius,  they  continue  to  consult  men 
who  draw  up  horoscopes  which  predict  the  future  fate  of  a 
child  by  astrological  rules  concerning  the  position  of  stars 
and  planets  on  the  day  of  its  birth.  Astrologers  exist  still. 
Now  how  can  any  one  believe  in  the  value  of  a  horoscope 
when  we  know  that  at  least  one  child  is  born  into  the  world 
every  second  in  some  part  of  the  globe?  that  is  sixty  every 

*  This  relic  is  also  shown  in  Rome  at  St.  John  Lateran. 
86 


ON    CREDULITY 

minute,  or  about  3600  every  hour,  say  86,400  a  day;  so  that, 
if  the  stars  had  any  real  influence  over  destiny,  ten  children 
born  at  the  same  moment  would  have  the  same  future :  a 
queen  and  a  farm  servant-girl  who  became  mothers  at  the 
same  moment  would  give  birth  to  two  beings  whose  fate 
would  be  governed  by  the  same  laws. 

Belief  in  amulets,  charms,  medals,  and  scapularies  is  still 
as  much  alive  among  civilized  people  as  it  is  among  savages, 
in  France  as  on  the  Congo  or  in  the  Soudan.  Any  one  who 
wishes  to  know  more  of  it  may  read  the  books  of  Monseig- 
neur  de  Segur,  Dom  Guerenger,  or  that  of  the  Abbe  de  St. 
Paul,  on  the  Cross  of  St.  Benedict,  which,  blessed  by  Pope 
Benedict  XIV.,  will  cure  everything,  toothache,  sore  throat, 
and  headache ;  will  purify  water  in  the  wells,  make  trees  put 
forth  their  leaves,  stops  conflagrations,  protects  horses,  cows, 
cats,  fowls,  trees,  vines,  lamp-glasses,  etc.,  etc.  I  am  not  in- 
venting any  of  these  things.  Here  are  a  few  quotations  from 
the  record : 

'^A  cow  had  a  violent  cough,''  writes  Dom  Guerenger  (in 
his  Cross  of  St.  Benedict,  p.  72),  "  she  did  not  eat  and  gave 
no  milk.  A  visitor  made  the  mark  of  the  cross  on  her  fore- 
head; using  a  formula  that  the  medal  prescribed.  He  recom- 
mended that  the  medal  should  be  steeped  in  water  with  a 
little  bran,  which  the  cow  should  be  made  to  drink  every  day 
till  she  was  cured;  and  he  hung  up  another  medal  in  the 
stable.  A  few  weeks  later  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing 
that  the  cow  had  completely  recovered." 

The  same  medal  has  an  influence  on  trees.  "  I  cut  away 
all  the  large  branches  and  left  only  the  trunk  of  my  tree," 
writes  the  author  of  the  book  called  Origine  et  effets  admi- 
raUcs  de  la  croix  de  St.  Benoit,"  the  Abbe  de  St.  Paul, 
'*the  cut  of  the  saw  having  shown  me  that  the  branches 
were  really  dead,  I  placed  at  once  a  Cross  of  St.  Bene- 
dict under  the  bark,  at  the  same  time  praying  to  the  saint 
to  make  my  fine  tree  revive,  for  it  was  the  admiration  of  all 
the  country  round.  In  the  spring  it  put  forth  as  usual  its 
luxuriant  foliage." 

During  the  Commune,  these  medals,  slipped  into  the  bar- 

37 


THE    UNKNOWN 

ricade  of  the  Rue  cle  Rivoli,  preserved  the  Naval  Department 
as  well  as  the  repository  of  maps  and  plans  from  destruction.* 

Who  does  not  know  the  history  of  the  Holy  Tear  of  Ven- 
dome,  a  tear  shed  by  Jesus  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus,  caught 
np  by  an  angel,  and  kept  in  a  golden  coffer ;  for  ages  it  has 
been  the  occasion  of  many  miracles  at  Vendome,  and  has 
been  a  great  source  of  revenue.  Then  there  is  the  hair  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  shown  in  Naples!  And  the  robe  without 
seam,  woven  from  the  top  throughout,  which  is  offered  to 
the  adoration  of  the  faithful  in  the  church  at  Argenteuil, 
and  also  at  Treves,  etc.,  etc.? 

Credulity  is  everywhere.  See  how  many  wax  tapers  are 
burnt  in  churches  before  pictures  and  images  of  saints, 
that  they  may  obtain  from  heaven  the  cure  of  some  sick 
person,  good  fortune  in  business,  success  in  an  examination, 
etc.  The  wax  tapers  representing  many  prayers  addressed 
to  heaven,  do  they  not  remind  one  of  the  prayer  wind-mills 
that  the  people  of  Thibet  rely  upon  to  draw  down  divine 
blessings  ? 

Everybody  knows  the  history  of  Notre  Dame  de  Lorette, 
the  house  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  the  Santa  Casa  which  was 
transported,   it  is  said,  from  Nazareth  to  Loretto  in  1294, 

'  See  Paul  Parfait's  D' Arsenal  de  la  DedoUon,  et  le  Dossier  des  Peter- 
inages.  I  might  cite  a  great  many  more  instances  of  superstition, 
St.  Antony  of  Padua,  at  the  present  moment,  seems  to  be  in  great 
favor.  The  chief  Catholic  newspaper,  La  Croix,  said  on  September  7, 
1899,  "385  letters  have  this  week  been  placed  in  the  box  of  St.  An- 
tony, 8  Rue  Fran9ois  I.  They  returned  thanks  to  him,  or  they  im- 
plored his  aid  for  various  blessings  ;  72  cures,  104  spiritual  mercies,  327 
temporal  favors  ;  for  81  conversions,  59  cases  of  emploj'-ment,  317  espe- 
cial mercies,  12  vocations.  302 other  favors  ;  for  blessings  on  32  schools,  on 
47  religious  houses,  on  100  houses  of  business  for  8  lost  objects,  for  106 
young  men,  and  for  8  parishes."  A  poor  workman,  father  of  eight  chil- 
dren, had  promised  5  francs  to  St.  Antony  of  Padua  if  he  recovered,  and, 
finding  himself  better,  sent  the  sum,  and  prayed  the  saint  not  to  let 
him  have  a  return  of  the  same  suffering. — {Loir  et  Gher)  "  I  send  you 
franc  50,  the  sum  we  promised  to  pay  every  month  for  protection  to 
our  crops  and  trade,"  etc.  The  accounts  made  up  November  11,  1899, 
show  that  this  house  had  received,  in  gifts  to  St.  Antony,  1,800,000  francs 
in  its  treasur}^  besides  money  left  by  will. 


ON    CREDULITY 

after  having  tarried  for  awhile  in  Dalmatia.  The  chnrch 
which  contains  it  was  finished  by  Brauvante,  under  the  pon- 
tificate of  Julius  II.,  in  1513.  The  Santa  Casa,  which  is 
built  of  bricks,  measures  10  metres,  60  in  length,  4.36  in 
width,  and  6.21  in  height.  (The  metre  is  a  little  more  than 
a  yard.)  Not  long  since  it  was  not  ''good  form"  to  doubt 
the  authenticity  of  this  house,  or  its  miraculous  transporta- 
tion through  the  air  and  over  the  Adriatic  Sea. 

Nowadays  Notre  Dame  de  Lourdes  has  taken  the  place  of 
Notre  Dame  de  Lorette.  Those  who  take  charge  of  the  af- 
fair at  Lourdes  take  no  pains  to  conceal  their  own  contempt 
for  the  credulity  of  worshippers.  This  may  be  seen  by  read- 
ing the  inscription  they  have  engraved  in  golden  letters  on 
a  marble  slab,  in  which  the  "Mother  of  God"  says,  ad- 
dressing little  Bernadette:  ''  Do  me  the  kindness  to  come  back 
here  ;"  and  again,  "  I  trust  many  will  come  hither ;"  and 
again,  ''come  wash  in  this  water,  and  eat  of  this  grass." 

It  is  quite  common  to  meet  with  persons  who  deny  any  be- 
lief in  the  questions  now  before  us,  but  who  quietly  accept 
things  still  more  startling,  for  instance,  the  story  of  the 
deluge  that  overwhelmed  the  earth,  of  which  it  is  written 
that  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  were  broken  up,  and 
the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened  and  rain  was  upon  the 
earth  for  forty  days  and  forty  nights  .  .  .  and  the  waters 
prevailed  exceedingly  upon  the  earth,  fifty  cubits  upward 
did  the  waters  prevail,  and  the  hiph  hills  that  were  in  the 
midst  of  the  whole  heaven  were  covered."  For  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  days  the  Ark  floated  on  the  waters,  with 
Noah,  his  family,  and  the  animals,  male  and  female,  that  he 
had  taken  with  him.  No  story  in  the  Arabian  Nights  seems 
more  amazing,  but  the  faithful  have  accepted  it,  as  it 
stands,  as  literal  truth,  as  they  have  done  the  miracle  of 
Joshua  causing  the  sun  to  stand  still. 

And  in  the  subjects  upon  which  we  have  here  to  speak — 
stories  of  apparitions,  manifestations,  dreams,  presentiments, 
experiences  in  hypnotism  and  spiritualism — how  great  a  field 
is  given  to  credulity  I  I  knew  an  officer  of  great  merit  who 
never  doubted  the  presence  of  those  whose  names  were  rapped 

39 


THE    UNKNOWN 

out  on  his  table,  and  who  held  discourse  with  Newton  and 
Spinoza  after  breakfast  every  Sunday.  I  knew  another  who 
discussed  social  philosophy  with  Jean  Valjean,  never  remem- 
bering that  that  personage  is  fictitious,  owing  his  origin  sole- 
ly tc  Victor  Hugo's  imagination.  A  great  lady  of  mature  age, 
and  very  intelligent,  who  had  been  intimately  associated  with 
Lord  Byron,  used  to  call  him  np  every  Saturday  evening  that 
she  might  consult  him  as  to  her  investments  and  business 
affairs.  A  doctor  of  medicine  of  the  Faculty  of  Paris  chose 
as  his  associates  in  the  other  world  Dante  and  Beatrice,  who 
came  regularly  to  converse  with  him,  but  *' never  together y'^ 
he  said,  *^  because  they  were  forbidden  to  approach  each 
other.''  A  medium  who  was  more  than  ordinarily  extrava- 
gant had  had  twelve  children  and  lost  seven.  Every  month 
he  inquired  of  the  lost  concerning  their  health  and  what  they 
were  doing,  and  carefully  wrote  down  all  he  was  told.  An- 
other called  up  ^Hhe  soul  of  the  earth,"  which  responded,  and 
directed  all  his  thoughts,  etc. 

Spiritualism,  like  religion,  has  been  put  to  many  uses  with 
which  it  has  but  very  slight  connection.  It  has  made  mar- 
riages, real  or  temporary ;  it  has  imposed  on  human  weak- 
ness, and  it  has  made  wills.  I  knew  a  woman,  once  very 
charming,  who  became  rich  and  married  a  marquis  because 
she  made  a  table  say  to  the  man  whose  name  she  coveted 
that  his  first  wife  pointed  her  out  as  her  successor.  I  knew 
a  widow  whose  baby  was  announced  and  accepted  before  its 
birth  as  the  reincarnation  of  a  lost  child  whom  she  had  dear- 
ly loved,  and  afterward  the  way  was  pointed  out  to  her  for  a 
second  marriage.  I  knew  another  woman  who,  under  pre- 
tence of  spiritualism,  sells  cabalistic  rings,  with  which  she 
professes  to  cure  all  maladies,  etc.,  etc. 

A  very  good  story  is  that  of  ''  Le  Diahle  au  diu  neuvieme 
siecle,"  a  pretended  revelation  of  freemasonry,  by  Diana 
Vaughan,  which  mystified  a  large  part  of  the  French  clergy, 
several  bishops,  two  cardinals,  and  even  Pope  Leo  XIII., 
though  the  whole  of  it  was  a  forgery  by  Leo  Taxil,  as  he  cyni- 
cally told  the  world  in  1697.  The  appearance  of  devils  and 
she  -  devils  among  the  freemasons,  in  impious  and  obscene 


ON    CREDULITY 

ceremonials,  had  been  taken  seriously  and  as  truth  by  grave 
theologians. 

But  political  credulity,  it  must  be  owned,  is  even  more  far- 
reaching  than  that  of  religion.  When  we  remember  that  at 
this  very  moment  Frenchmen,  Germans,  Russians,  English- 
men, and  Austrians,  etc.,  believe  that  they  all  ought  to  be 
soldiers  and  live  in  filthy  barracks,  passing  their  time  in 
grotesque  exercises,  and  also  that  all  citizens  in  European 
countries  spend  for  the  glory  of  maintaining  imaginary  fron- 
tiers, traced  out  on  paper,  sixteen  million  francs  a  day,  to 
keep  men  from  staying  in  their  own  homes  and  minding 
their  own  business,  one  feels  that  verily  the  age  of  reason  has 
not  yet  dawned  on  our  poor  little  planet,  and  that  voluntary 
slavery  is  part  of  the  patrimony  of  the  human  race. 

Yes,  we  are  still  imperfect,  and  human  credulity  offers  no 
subject  as  worthy  our  attention  as  the  incredulity  that 
springs  from  fixed  ideas.  How  difficult,  therefore,  it  is  to 
keep  a  just  balance,  and  quietly  to  follow  the  dictates  of  pure 
reason ! 

Yes,  credulity  exists  everywhere,  forming  a  balance  per- 
petually with  unbelief.  Let  us  beware  of  both  of  them.  The 
augurs  of  antiquity  are  not  yet  all  dead  ;  progress  has  not 
killed  the  successors  of  those  priests  of  old  who  predicted 
what  was  to  happen  by  the  entrails  of  victims,  nor  has  it 
given  up  belief  in  presages.  The  human  mind  does  not  move 
quickly  in  matters  of  intelligence.  I  may  here  add,  too,  with 
Humboldt,  that  presumptuous  scepticism,  which  rejects  facts 
without  investigating  them,  is  more  blameworthy  in  some  re- 
spects than  irrational  credulity. 

It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  examples.  I  merely  wish  to 
point  out  in  this  second  chapter  that  we  ought  to  be  on  our 
guard  against  credulity,  just  as  we  should  be  against  incredu- 
lity. Both  run  to  excess  in  opposite  directions ;  we  should 
keep  ourselves  distant  from  both  of  them  while  engaged  in 
examining  the  extraordinary  facts  of  which  we  are  about  to 
speak. 

Let  us  deny  nothing,  let  us  assert  nothing,  let  us  observe 
impartially.     That  probably  is  the  most  difficult  position  we 

41 


THE    UNKNOWN 

can  maintain  in  this  order  of  things.  For  my  own  part,  I  beg 
those  who  may  be  tempted  to  accuse  me  either  of  credulity 
or  incredulity,  Hot  to  do  so  lightly,  and  not  to  forget  that  I 
am  always  on  my  guard  against  either  extreme.  I  uphold  no 
theory.     I  am  a  seeker  after  truth. 


CHAPTER  in 

OF    TELEPATHIC     COMMUNICATIONS    MADE     BY    THE     DYING, 
AND   OF  APPARITIONS 

Desfaits!    Pas  de  phrases. 

We  have  thus  far  placed  ourselves  on  guard  against  two 
intellectual  tendencies  that  hinder  a  free  search  for  truth — 
incredulity  and  credulity — and  we  will  take  great  care  to  keep 
our  minds  in  a  free  and  independent  state,  which  is  more  in- 
dispensable than  it  has  ever  been  in  the  kind  of  studies  to 
which  we  are  about  to  apply  ourselves.  At  each  step  we 
shall  knock  up  against  one  or  more  of  our  habitual  scientific 
ideas,  and  shall  be  forced  to  reject  facts  and  to  deny  them 
without  sufficient  examination.  At  every  moment,  too,  when 
once  caught  in  the  current,  we  shall  feel  that  we  are  gliding 
too  fast  into  acceptation  of  insufficiently  explained  phenom- 
ena, and  we  shall  be  liable  to  fall  into  the  absurdity  of  look- 
ing for  the  causes  of  what  never  existed.  May  the  positive 
spirit  of  the  experimental  method  to  which  our  human  race, 
though  still  so  base  and  barbarous,  owes  what  little  progress 
it  has  made,  not  abandon  us  in  our  present  researches. 

I  know  well  that  the  experimental  method  itself  is  not 
perfect ;  that  it  has  even  led  eminent  psychologists  to  doubt- 
ing about  everything.  Taine  has  taught  us  that  "  exterior 
perception  is  a  pure  hallucination,"  and  that  in  our  normal 
condition  we,  although  we  may  be  healthy  and  reasonable, 
have  nothing  but  *'a  series  of  hallucinations  which  lead  to 
nothing."  Berkeley,  John  Stuart  Mill,  and  Bain  hiive  declared 
that  bodies  have  no  real  existence,  which  our  own  minds,  un- 
der illusion,  have  transformed  into  substances  ;  and  so  with 
other  things  around  us.     According  to  these  three  philoso- 

43 


THE    UNKNOWN 

phers  there  is  nothing  real  in  a  stone,  in  a  bit  of  iron,  in  a 
tree,  or  in  an  animal.  One  of  our  most  profound  French 
mathematicians,  whom  I  questioned  recently  on  the  subject, 
assured  me  that  in  his  opinion  there  was  nothing  real  but 
sensations.  How  can  you  have  sensations  without  a  sentient 
being  ?  Therefore,  such  a  being  must  exist.  If  we  admit- 
ted my  friend^s  theory,  the  universe  itself  would  exist  only 
in  the  imagination  of  men,  and,  consequently,  could  have  had 
no  existence  until  there  were  men  upon  the  earth.  I  rather 
think  that  such  is  the  opinion  of  my  very  gifted  friend,  Ana- 
tole  France,  and  some  of  his  contemporaries.  Now  astron- 
omy and  geology  prove — without  going  further  to  seek — 
that  this  world  existed  before  man.  And,  then,  if  you 
admit  your  own  sensations,  you  cannot  but  admit  those  of 
your  neighbors.  Therefore  your  neighbor  exists  as  much 
as  you,  and  other  beings  must  exist  too,  and  likewise  things. 
We  had  better  keep  clear  of  too  much  transcendental  reason- 
ing. Zeno  of  Elea  once  demonstrated  that  an  arrow  in  flight 
is  motionless,  and  Democritus  that  snow  is  a  black  substance. 

Let  us  not  indulge  ourselves  in  the  delights  of  paradox. 
No  doubt  it  is  a  very  amusing  game,  and  raises  us  for  a 
time  above  vulgar  common-sense,  but  the  younger  Alexander 
Dumas  has  shown  us  by  his  own  example  that  the  spirit  of 
paradox  is  not  without  its  dangers,  and  that  it  sometimes 
leads  to  what  is  absolutely  false.  Let  us  try,  therefore,  to 
be  serious,  and  upon  our  best  behavior. 

In  order  to  know  what  we  are  about  in  the  mysterious 
world  that  we  are  now  going  to  enter,  and  to  draw  some  in- 
structive observations  from  what  we  find  there,  we  will  begin 
by  a  methodical  classification  of  phenomena,  and  group 
together  those  which  seem  alike,  endeavoring  to  educe  con- 
clusions from  them  which  may  seem  to  us  well  founded. 
This  object  is  worth  some  pains.  It  has  relations  to  our- 
selves, to  our  nature,  our  existence,  and  our  future  state. 
These  questions  ought  to  be  interesting  to  us.  But  of 
course  there  are  people  who  will  shake  their  heads  and 
laugh,  and  who  will  feel  superb  contempt  for  our  endeavor. 
I  hear  them  say  : 

44 


OF    TELEPATHIC     COMMUNICATIONS 

"You  know  perfectly  well  that  snch  so-called  glimpses 
beyond  our  ordinary  horizon  are  only  imaginary,  because  for 
us  death  ends  all." 

But,  no — we  don^t  know  it ;  nor  you,  either.  You  know 
nothing  about  it,  and  your  affirmations,  like  your  negations, 
are  mere  words.  All  human  aspirations  protest  against  an- 
nihilation. ■  Ideality,  dreams,  hope,  and  justice  cannot  be 
pure  illusions  any  more  than  the  bodies  that  we  wear  on 
earth.  Has  not  feeling  the  same  right  to  be  taken  into 
consideration  as  reason  ?  Whatever  may  be  our  conclu- 
sions, we  are  confronted  by  a  real  and  important  prob- 
lem. ''  The  immortality  of  the  soul,"  wrote  Pascal,  "  is  a 
thing  so  important  that  only  those  who  have  lost  all  feel- 
ing can  rest  indifferent  to  it,  can  be  content  to  know  if  it  is 
not,  or  if  it  is."  Why  need  we  despair  of  ever  knowing  the 
nature  of  the  thinking  principle  which  impels  us  to  know 
whether  it  will  survive  the  death  and  destruction  of  our  bodies? 
Will  the  investigations  upon  which  we  are  about  to  enter  give 
us  any  certain  ideas  upon  this  subject  ?     Possibly  they  may. 

However  that  may  be,  I  beg  my  readers  when  they  peruse 
these  lines  to  be,  if  possible,  neither  too  fixed  in  their  opin- 
ions {intransigeants),  radicals,  atheists,  materialists,  Jews, 
Protestants,  Catholics,  nor  Mohammedans,  but  simply  to 
think  for  themselves.  I  am  making  an  attempt  to  instruct^ 
nothing  more.  I  have  in  this  work  no  personal  aim.  Some 
of  my  best  friends  assure  me  that  I  shall  compromise  myself 
if  I  go  too  earnestly  into  that  inquiry,  that  it  is  an  act  of  im- 
prudence, that  it  shows  too  much  courage,  and,  in  a  word,  is 
very  rash.  I  beg  these  good  friends  to  consider  that  I  am 
nothing — nothing  at  all  but  a  seeker  after  truth,  and  that  to 
all  that  may  be  written,  said,  or  thought  about  me  I  am  abso- 
lutely indifferent.  No  interest,  no  outside  influences  have 
guided  my  steps. 

It  may  be  also  objected  that  the  subjects  of  which  I  treat 
have  been  objects  of  search  for  many  centuries,  that  nothing 
hitherto  has  been  found  out,  and  that  therefore  nothing  ever 
will  be  found.  According  to  such  reasoning  no  knowledge 
could  ever  have  been  gained. 

45 


THE    UNKNOWN 

'*  Vitnm  impendere  vero"  (Let  us  consecrate  onr  lives  to 
truth.)  This  was  the  motto  of  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau. 
Can  there  be  a  more  noble  one  for  any  philosopher,  for  any 
thinker? 

We  will  try  to  draw  up  a  statement  like  the  legal  inquiry 
of  a  juge  d' instruction  in  a  French  criminal  case,  for  it  will 
contain  human  elements  which  we  must  take  into  account, 
and  these  phenomena  are  not  so  simple  as  an  astronomical 
observation  nor  an  experiment  in  physics.  Our  first  duty 
will  be  to  follow  a  strict  method  of  study,  and  to  begin  by  a 
classification  of  the  facts  to  be  examined. 

We  will  commence  by  instances  of  telepathic  manifestations 
from  the  dying.  I  say  manifestations,  not  merely  appari- 
tions, that  I  may  gather  together  a  number  of  facts  of  which 
visible  apparitions  from  only  a  portion. 

The  word  telepathy  has  been  known  to  the  public  for  some 
years.  It  was  etymologically  constructed  like  the  words  tele- 
scope, telegraph,  telephone,  from  the  Greek  roots  rriKEy  far 
off,  and  iradoQ^  sensation.  Sympathy  and  antipathy  have  the 
same  etymological  derivation.  It  simply  means,  therefore, 
'^to  be  warned  by  some  kind  of  sensation  of  a  thing  which  is 
passing  at  a  distance.^''  In  the  course  of  the  facts  with 
which  we  are  about  to  deal  we  meet  at  every  step  uncertain 
or  exaggerated  stories,  doubtful  accounts,  and  observations 
that  have  no  value  because  they  show  no  critical  spirit.  We 
must  therefore  proceed  with  extreme  prudence — I  was  about  to 
write  mistrust — in  admitting  these  facts,  and  we  should  throw 
out  at  once  all  that  appear  to  us  ancertain.  In  this  case, 
more,  perhaps,  than  in  any  other,  we  need  to  take  into  account 
the  judgment,  the  knowledge,  and  the  moral  and  intellectual 
value  of  the  persons  who  report  them.  A  love  of  the  ex- 
traordinary or  the  marvellous  may  sometimes  transform  into 
fantastic  events  very  ordinary  happenings  which  could  be  ex- 
plained in  the  easiest  way  in  the  world.     I  know  persons 

*  The  word  telesthesia  would  be  preferable  and  more  exact,  for  •nddo^ 
indicates  a  morbid  state,  a  state  of  sickness,  which  has  nothing  to  do 
with  this  subject,  while  alaOrjaig  means  sensitiveness  or  sensibility.  We 
have  nothing  to  do  with  pathological  cases, 

46 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

who  might  tell  me  stories  for  a  year,  with  a  great  expenditure 
of  apparent  proofs  and  eloquent  demonstrations,  and  of  all 
their  narratives  I  should  not  believe  a  word,  any  more  than 
I  do  the  protestations  of  certain  deputies  and  cabinet  minis- 
ters. There  are  others,  on  the  contrary,  whose  character 
at  once  inspires  us  with  confidence,  a  confidence  which 
events  are  sure  to  justify.  In  my  search  for  facts  to  be 
studied  on  this  subject  these  principles  of  elementary  pru- 
dence have  carefully  guided  me,  and  I  hope  I  have  never 
relied  on  any  report  unless  I  could  feel  that  its  authenticity 
was  vouched  for  by  the  enlightened  scientific  spirit  of  those 
who  have  had  the  goodness  to  trust  it  to  me,  or  been  guided 
at  least  by  my  own  knowledge  of  their  sound  judgment  and 
good  faith. 

I  will  lay  before  my  readers,  in  the  first  place,  a  number  of 
things  observed  by  various  persons,  of  which  we  will  attempt, 
as  I  have  said,  a  methodical  classification.  In  drawing  up 
this  statement  on  which  we  are  to  form  a  judgment,  we  need 
a  large  number  of  authentic  facts  before  our  eyes.  Expla- 
nations and  theories  will  come  afterwards.  We  are  workmen 
pursuing  the  experimental  plan. 

We  will  begin  by  certain  manifestations,  strange  and  inex- 
plicable, made  to  the  living,  who  were  far  away,  by  their 
dying  friends  at  the  moment  of  dissolution;  we  do  not  speak 
of  the  dead,  and  our  readers  should  observe  the  distinction.      , 

We  begin  by  manifestations  from  the  dying  made  to  persons 
in  a  normal  state^of  health,  wide  awake — not  during  sleep,  nor 
in  dreams.  There  are  manifestations  that  are  made  in  dreams 
which  ought  not  to  be  considered  as  of  no  value,  but  they  will 
be  considered  in  another  chapter. 

My  excellent  friend  General  Parmentier,  one  of  our  most 
distinguished  and  most  trusted  savants,  sends  me  the  two  fol- 
lowing facts,  which  occurred  in  his  own  family.' 

'  M.  Parmentier  is  an  artillery  officer,  a  general  of  division,  president  of 
the  French  alliance  for  the  promotion  of  the  French  language  in  foreign 
countries,  vice-president  of  the  Astronomical  Society  of  France  and  of 
the  Geographical  Society,  former  president  of  the  committee  of  fortifica- 
tions, a  pupil  of  the  licole  Polytechnique,  grand  officer  of  the  Legion  of 

47 


THE    UNKNOWN 

I.  "Several  persons  had  met  for  a  breakfast-party  given  at  Andlau  in 
Alsace.  They  waited  for  the  master  of  theiiouse,  who  had  gone  out  hunt- 
ing ;  but  time  passed  and  they  sat  down  at  table  without  him,  his  wife 
saying  it  could  not  be  long  before  he  came  in.  Tiiey  began  breakfast 
very  merrily,  expecting  every  minute  to  see  the  too-zealous  votary  of 
St.  Hubert  appear.  But  time  went  on.  Every  one  was  astonished  at 
the  length  of  the  delay,  when  suddenly,  though  the  day  was  calm  and 
the  heavens  blue,  the  window  of  thediniug-room,  which  was  wide  open, 
was  shut  violently  with  a  great  noise,  and  opened  wide  again  immediately. 
The  guests  were  surprised,  astonished  that  this  could  have  happened 
without  overturning  a  decanter  of  water  which  was  standing  on  a  table 
close  to  the  window,  but  the  decanter  remained  undisturbed.  Those  who 
had  seen  it  and  heard  the  noise  could  not  understand  anything  of  what 
had  occurred.  *  Something  dreadful  has  happened  !'  cried  the  lady  of 
the  house,  rising  from  the  table.  The  breakfast  was  suspended.  Three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  later  the  dead  body  of  the  sportsman  was  brought  in 
on  a  stretcher.  He  had  received  a  load  of  shot  full  in  his  heart.  He  died 
immediately,  having  only  time  to  exclaim :  "My  wife  !  my  poor  chil- 
dren !" 

Now  here  is  a  fact  whose  coincidence  has  to  be  explained. 
At  first  its  details  seem  commonplace  and  absurd.  What  sig- 
nified the  strange  movement  of  the  window  ?  And  what  had 
it  to  do  with  the  young  man's  death  ?  Would  it  not  be  mere 
loss  of  time  to  treat  so  insignificant  an  incident  as  a  serious 
matter  ? 

The  frogs  of  Galvani  were  also  insignificant,  so  was  the 
saucepan  of  Papin,  but  electricity  and  steam  are  of  vast  im- 
portance. 

Not  long  ago  lightning  struck  a  man  who  was  out  in  an 
open  field,  but  did  him  no  harm  except  to  tear  off  his  shoes 
and  fling  them  twenty  yards  away,  pulling  out  every  one  of 
the  nails  in  their  soles. 

Lightning  another  time  completely  stripped  a  young  peas- 
ant girl,  leaving  her  naked  lying  on  the  ground.  Her  clothes 
were  found  afterwards  hanging  in  a  tree. 

Another  time  it  killed  a  laborer  at  the  very  moment  when 
he  was  putting  a  piece  of  bread  into  his  mouth  for  his  break- 
Honor,  etc.  I  mention  these  things  that  such  of  my  readers  as  do  not 
know  him  personally  may  judge  of  his  character  and  what  he  has  ac- 
complished. 

48 


^       /OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

fast.  He  remained  in  the  same  position.  When  some  one  came 
up  to  him  and  touched  him,  he  crumbled  to  ashes,  but  his 
clothes  were  not  burned. 

The  freaks  of  nature  ought  not  to  prevent  our  studying  its 
phenomena.     But  very  much  the  contrary. 

No  doubt  on  first  hearing  the  story  of  the  sportsman  at 
Andlau,  our  immediate  impulse  would  be  to  deny  the  facts  at 
once.  But  certainly  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  story 
could  have  been  invented  in  all  its  parts,  nor  that  it  could  be 
wholly  false,  for  the  circumstances  contained  in  it  and  the 
character  of  the  narrator  at  once  put  an  end  to  that  idea.  But 
we  might  suggest  that  the  movement  of  the  window  had  been 
occasioned  by  some  common  cause,  a  breeze,  a  shock,  a  cat, 
or  something  of  the  kind,  and  that  its  coincidence  with  the 
sportsman^s  tragic  death  made  it  seem,  after  the  event,  of  more 
importance.  We  can  hardly,  however,  accept  this  supposition, 
because  the  mistress  of  the  house  and  her  guests  were  so  im- 
pressed by  it. 

Here  is  what  seems  to  me  to  be  the  fact : 

The  window  was  not  shut,  the  bottle  of  water  proves  it, 
and  this  circumstance  was  remarked  at  the  time.  Before 
beginning  to  analyze  these  facts  we  may  consider  if  the  lady 
and  the  other  persons  present  could  not  have  had  an  illusion 
both  of  sight  and  sound,  the  sensation  of  a  phenomenon  that 
was  taking  place,  and  that  their  brains  had  been  deeply  im- 
pressed by  something  exterior  to  themselves. 

We  might  think  that  this  something  exterior  to  themselves 
was  the  psychic  force  of  the  dying  man,  whom  they  were 
every  moment  expecting,  who  should  have  been  sitting  with 
them  at  table  ;  might  he  not  have  been  transported  thither 
in  thought,  which  in  that  effort  exhausted  its  last  energy? 
>^fr  Wireless  telegraphy. 

Why  is  it  manifested  in  this  fashion  ? 

How  could  the  cerebral  impression  have  been  made  on 
more  than  one  person  at  once  ? 

How  ?    Why  ? 

Tes  pourquoi,  dit  le  dieu,  ne  finiraient  jamais. 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  mystery,  and  all  we  can  do  is  to 

49 


THE    UNKNOWN 

form  an  hypothesis.  Of  course,  if  this  story  stood  by  itself, 
we  might  pass  it  over  without  notice,  but  it  is  one  of  a  great 
number  of  similar  experiences  that  we  have  here  to  relate, 
many  of  them  still  more  remarkable.  Let  us  for  the  present 
sny  no  more  about  explanations  but  continue. 

Here  is  a  second  instance  of  telepathic  transmission  at 
the  moment  of  death,  not  less  singular,  probably  more  so, 
which  I  owe  to  the  kindness  of  General  Parmentiere  who 
vouches  for  its  authenticity. 

II.  ' '  We  were  at  Schlestadt  in  the  Department  of  the  Bas-Rhine.  It  was 
a  warm  summer  night.  The  door  of  communication  between  the  bed- 
room and  the  salon  had  been  left  open,  and  in  the  salon  two  windows 
had  been  raised  and  were  kept  open  by  chairs  whose  backs  touched  them. 
The  father  and  mother  of  M.  Parmentier  were  asleep. 

"  Suddenly  Madame  Parmentier  was  awakened  by  her  bed  being  shaken 
from  top  to  bottom.  She  was  astonished  and  somewhat  alarmed;  she 
woke  her  husband,  and  told  him  what  had  occurred. 

"  Suddenly  a  second  shock  took  place,  this  time  very  violent.  General 
Parmentier's  father  thought  it  was  an  earthquake,  though  earthquakes 
are  very  rare  in  Alsace.  He  got  up,  lit  a  candle,  and  seeing  nothing 
unusual  went  to  bed  again.  But,  immediately  after,  the  bed  was  again 
shaken  violently;  then  came  a  great  noise  in  the  next  room,  as  if  the 
windows  were  shut  violently  and  all  their  panes  were  broken.  The 
earthquake  seemed  to  continue  worse  than  ever.  M.  and  Madame  Par- 
mentier got  out  of  bed  and  went  to  examine  what  mischief  had  been  done 
in  the  salon ;  they  found  nothing.  The  windows  were  wide  open,  the 
chairs  were  in  their  places,  the  night  was  calm,  the  sky  clear  and  full  of 
stars.  There  was  neither  earthquake  nor  wind-storm,  the  noise  and  com- 
motion had  been  fictitious.  M.  and  Madame  Parmen  tier  lived  au  premier; 
on  the  rez-de-chaussee,  on  the  floor  below  them,  lived  an  elderly  woman 
whose  wardrobe  creaked  abominably  every  time  she  opened  or  shut  the 
door.  This  disagreeable  creak  they  had  heard  among  the  noises,  and  had 
asked  each  other  what  could  induce  the  old  lady  at  that  hour  to  be 
opening  and  shutting  her  wardrobe  door. 

"  When  they  found  that  there  had  been  nothing  to  cause  noise  or  con- 
fusion in  the  salon,  that  the  windows  were  still  open  and  the  furniture 
unmoved,  Madame  Parmentier  grew  frightened.  She  began  to  think 
something  had  happened  to  her  friends,  to  her  father  or  mother,  who, 
having  been  recently  married,  she  had  left  shortly  before  at  Strasbourg^ 
and  who  were  all,  as  she  thought,  in  perfect  health. 

"But  she  soon  after  heard  that  her  old  governess,  whom  she  had  not 
seen  since  her  marriage,  and  who  had  gone  back  to  Vienna  to  her  family 

50 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

in  Austria,  liad  died  tJiat  same  night,  and  that  before  she  died  she  had 
several  times  expressed  regret  that  she  had  been  separated  from  her  dear 
pupil,  for  whom  she  had  a  warm  attachment." 

This  is  a  second  I'lict,  which  has  some  analogy  with  the 
other,  and  which  seems  to  show  the  same  things.  An  im- 
pression sent  from  the  brain  of  a  dying  person  impressed  the 
brain  of  another  more  than  three  hundred  miles  away,  and 
gave  it  the  sensation  of  extraordinary  and  unusual  noises. 
Could  this  impression  have  struck  either  directly  or  through 
sympathy  the  brains  of  two  persons  at  the  same  time  ? 

When  next  day  Madame  Parmentier  asked  her  neighbor 
in  the  rez-de-chatissee  if  she  had  opened  her  creaking  closet 
in  the  middle  of  the  night,  if  she  had  been  shaken  in  her  bed, 
and  if  she  had  heard  unusual  noises,  the  answer  was  no,  and 
she  added  that,  being  an  old  woman,  she  was  a  poor  sleeper, 
and  if  anything  unusual  had  occurred  she  must  have  known 
it.  The  psychic  despatch  had  therefore  reached  only  the 
two  beings  en  rapport  with  the  dying  woman  from  whom  it 
came. 

No  doubt  we  feel  surprise  at  the  materialness,  the  com- 
monplaceness,  the  vulgarity  even,  of  this  manifestation,  and 
we  can  also  say,  M.  and  Madame  Parmentier's  senses  de- 
ceived them ;  it  was  an  hallucination  without  a  cause ;  it  was 
mere  chance,  a  mere  coincidence.  But  it  is  our  duty  to  look 
into  things  without  previous  prejudice  for  or  against  them, 
and  to  seek  to  discover,  if  possible,  the  laws  that  control 
them. 

Let  us  go  on,  for  the  value  of  our  facts  is  increased  by  their 
accum.ulation,  since  we  are  dealing  with  coincidences. 

III.  M.  Andre  Bloch,  a  young  musician  of  great  talent, 
who  took  the  prix  de  Rome,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Astro- 
nomical Society  of  France,  sent  me  recently  a  fact  of  the  same 
kind,  that  came  under  his  observation  in  1896  : 

"My  dear  Master,— It  was  in  June,  1896.  My  mother  came  to 
Rome  to  join  me  during  the  last  two  years  of  my  residence  in  Italy,  and 
she  lived  near  the  Academie  de  France,  in  a  family  pension  in  the  Via 
Gregoriana,  where  you  yourself  once  lived. 

51 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"  As  at  this  time  I  had  still  some  work  to  finish  before  I  could  go  back 
to  France,  my  mother,  in  order  not  to  interrupt  me,  went  about  the  city 
by  herself,  and  only  came  to  join  me  about  mid-day  at  the  Villa  Medici 
where  we  breakfasted  together.  Well !  one  day  I  saw  her  coming,  in  a 
state  of  great  excitement,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning.  "When  1  asked 
her  what  had  happened,  she  told  me  that  when  she  was  dressing  she  had 
suddenly  seen  beside  her  her  nephew  Rene  Kraemer,  who  looked  at  her 
and  said,  as  if  laughing  at  her  surprise,  '  Yes,  indeed,  I  am  quite  dead.' 

' '  Very  much  frightened,  she  made  haste  to  come  to  me.  I  quieted  her 
as  much  as  possible,  and  then  turned  our  conversation  on  other  subjects. 

"Two  weeks  later  we  both  got  back  to  Paris,  after  having  travelled 
through  a  portion  of  Italy,  and  then  we  heard  of  the  death  of  my  cousin 
Rene,  which  had  taken  place  on  June  13,  1896,  in  the  apartment  his 
parents  occupied,  31  Rue  de  Moscow.    He  was  fourteen  years  old. 

"Thanks  to  some  work  I  was  finishing  in  Rome  at  the  time  of  my 
mother's  visit,  I  can  verify  the  date,  and  even  the  hour,  when  this  phe- 
nomenon took  place.  On  that  day  my  little  cousin,  who  had  been  ill 
with  peritonitis  for  some  days,  was  dying  at  six  in  the  mwuing,  and  died 
at  mid-day,  after  having  several  times  expressed  his  desire  to  see  his  aunt 
Berthe,  my  mother. 

"  It  should  be  observed  that  in  none  of  the  numerous  letters  we  re- 
ceived from  Paris  had  any  word  been  said  about  my  cousin's  illness.  My 
mother's  great  affection  for  the  boy  was  well  known,  and  she  would  have 
gone  back  to  Paris  had  she  heard  that  the  least  thing  was  the  matter  with 
him.    They  did  not  even  telegraph  to  us  the  news  of  his  death, 

*•  I  may  add  that  when  it  is  six  in  the  morning  at  Paris,  clocks  in  Rome, 
by  reason  of  the  difference  of  longitude,  say  seven,  and  it  was  precisely  at 
that  hour  that  ray  mother  had  the  vision. 

"Andre  Bloch. 

"11  Place  Malesherbes,  Paris." 

The  fact  observed  by  Madame  Bloch  is  of  the  same  kind  as 
the  two  preceding.  At  the  hour  when  the  dying  boy  was 
losing  consciousness  of  earthly  things  he  was  earnestly  think- 
ing of  his  aunt,  whom  he  loved  with  filial  tenderness,  and 
whom  she  loved  in  return  like  her  own  son.  ^May  not  the 
psychic  force  of  the  dying  lad  have  manifested  itself  without 
losing  its  boyish  character  ?  A  boy  of  fourteen  may  well  have 
said,  laughing,  ^^  Well,  yes  !  I  am  just  dead." 

All  this  may  be  denied ;  denial  is  always  possible.  But  what 
have  we  to  prove  that  it  was  not  so  ?  Is  it  not  better  to  be  sin- 
cere, and  own  that  these  coincidences  are  at  least  remarkable, 
aJ though  we  cannot  understand  them  in  the  present  condition 

53 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

of  our  knowledge  ?    The  hypothesis  of  an  hallucination  with- 
out a  cause  is  not  worth  serious  consideration.     Let  us  put 
words  aside  and  seek. 
M.  V.  de  Kerkhove  wrote  to  me  in  February,  1889 : 

IV.  "On  the  25th  of  August,  1874,  being  in  Texas,  in  the  United 
States,  towards  sunset,  after  dinner  I  was  sitting  smoking  my  pipe  in 
the  lower  hall  of  the  house  in  which  I  lived,  looking  towards  the  sea, 
with  a  door  opening  to  the  northwest  on  my  right  hand. 
"  I  was  sitting  at  the  spot  marked  A. 

Suddenly  between  the  door-posts  of  the 
door,  marked  B,  I  saw  distinctly  my  aged 
r-|  T>      grandfather.    I  was  in  a  sort  of  quiescent 

^  —  state,   semi-conscious  of  my  own   peace 

and  comfort,  as  a  man  is  when  his  diges- 
tion is  good  and  he  has  just  eaten  a  good 
dinner.     I  felt  no  astonishment  at  seeing 
my  grandfather.     Indeed,  at  the  moment  I  was  in  a  semi-vegetable  state, 
and  was  thinking  of  nothing,  but  at  last  I  said  to  myself  : 

"  '  It  is  strange  how  those  rays  of  the  setting  sun  makes  everything 
purple,  even  the  face  of  my  grandfather,  and  the  folds  of  his  garments.' 
"In  fact,  the  sun  was  setting  at  that  moment,  a  brilliant  red,  and 
threw  its  last  rays  from  the  horizon  diagonally  through  the  door  into  the 
hall.  My  grandfather's  face  wore  its  usual  look  of  kindness  ;  he  smiled 
and  appeared  happy.  Suddenly  he  disappeared  as  the  sun  went  down, 
and  I  woke  as  from  a  dream,  with  the  conviction  that  I  had  seen  an  ap- 
parition. Six  weeks  later  I  heard  in  a  letter  that  my  grandfather  had 
died  during  the  night  of  August  25th-26th,  between  one  and  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  Between  Belgium,  where  my  grandfather  died,  and 
Texas,  where  I  was,  there  is  a  difference  in  time  of  five  hours  and  a  half. 
The  sun  setting  in  Texas  at  seven  o'clock  corresponded  to  the  time  in 
Belgium  at  which  my  grandather  died." 

Some  might  say  that  here  was  a  mere  illusion  produced  by 
the  rays  of  the  setting  sun.  This  is  not  likely,  for  M.  de 
Kerkhove  distinctly  recognized  his  grandfather,  and  we 
ought  especially  to  notice  in  all  these  experiences  that  the 
date  of  the  apparition  coincides  exactly  with  the  date  of 
the  death. 

On  November  10,  1890,  the  following  letter  was  written  to 
me  from  Christiania : 

V.  "My  dear  Master, — Your  work  Uranie  induces  me  to  make 
known  to  you  an  event  told  me  personally  by  the  individual  to  whom  it 

53 


THE    UNKNOWN 

happened.  It  was  M.  Vogler,  a  Danish  doctor,  who  lives  at  Gudun, 
near  Alborg,  in  Jiithmd.  M.  Vogler  is  a  man  in  excellent  health,  both 
mentally  and  bodily ;  he  is  of  an  honest,  straightforward  disposition, 
without  the  least  tendency  to  any  neurasthenic  or  imaginative  turn  of 
mind — quite  the  contrary. 

"When  a  young  medical  student  he  was  travelling  in  Germany  with 
Count  Schimmuelmann,  a  man  well  known  amoug  the  nobles  of  Hol- 
stein.  They  were  about  the  same  age.  At  one  of  the  university  towns 
of  Germany,  where  they  had  resolved  to  stay  some  time,  they  hired  a 
small  house.  The  count  occupied  the  lower  floor  and  M.  Vogler  the 
floor  iibove  him  ;  the  front  door  and  the  staircase  belonged  to  them  both. 

"  One  night,  M.  Vogler  having  gone  to  bed,  was  still  reading.  Suddenly 
he  heard  the  front  door  at  the  foot  of  the  staircase  opened  and  shut. 
He  took  no  notice  of  this,  thinking  his  friend  had  come  in.  However, 
a  minute  after  he  heard  steps,  as  if  some  one  was  walking  wear- 
ily up  the  stairs.  The  steps  stopped  at  his  door.  He  next  saw  his 
door  opened,  but  nobody  came  in.  He  still  heard  the  steps,  however, 
which  came  along  the  floor  of  his  chamber  and  drew  near  his  bed.  He 
could  see  nothing,  though  all  the  time  there  was  plenty  of  light  in  the 
chamber.  When  the  steps,  by  the  sound,  seemed  to  have  come  close 
to  his  bed,  he  heard  a  heavy  sigh,  which  he  recognized  to  be  that  of  his 
grandmother,  whom  he  had  left  in  good  health  in  Denmark.  At  the 
same  time  he  recognized  the  steps  upon  the  stairs  as  the  slow  and  drag- 
ging steps  of  an  old  woman. 

"  He  noted  the  exact  time  of  this,  for  instantly  he  felt  intuitively  that 
his  grandmother  was  dying,  and  he  wrote  it  down  on  paper.  Later  a 
letter  from  home  informed  him  of  the  sudden  death  of  the  old  lady,  who 
had  loved  him  best  of  all  her  grandchildren.  It  was  found  that  she  died 
exactly  at  the  hour  he  had  noted  down  on  paper;  and  thus  the  good  lady 
had  bidden  farewell  to  the  grandson  she  dearly  loved,  and  who  did  not 
even  know  that  she  was  ill  at  the  time  of  her  death. 

"Edouard  Hambre, 
"Attorney-at-Law,  Secretary  to  the  Bureau  of 
"  Public  Works  at  Christiania." 

That  this  yonng  man  was  warned  of  his  grandmother's 
death  by  hearing  steps  and  by  a  sigh  must  be  admitted. 

Madame  Feret,  at  Juvisy,  mother  of  the  postmistress  of 
that  place,  wrote  to  me  in  December,  1898  : 

VI.  "  The  fact  I  have  to  relate  took  place  some  time  ago,  but  I  remem- 
ber it  as  if  it  were  yesterday,  for  it  made  a  great,  impression  on  me,  and 
if  I  were  to  live  a  hundred  years  I  would  never  forget  it.  It  was  dur- 
ing the  Crimean  War,  in  1855.  I  was  living  then  in  the  Rue  de  la  Tour, 
at  Passy. 

54 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

**  One  day  about  breakfast-time,  that  is,  about  noon,  I  went  down  into 
the  cellar.  A  ray  of  sunshine  came  through  the  grating  and  lit  up  the 
dirt  floor.  The  part  it  lighted  up  looked  suddenly  to  me  like  the  sand 
upon  a  beach,  and  stretched  upon  it  lay  one  of  my  cousins,  an  officer 
in  command  of  a  battalion.  Much  frightened,  I  dared  not  go  a  step 
farther.  I  could  hardly  get  up  the  steps  again.  The  family,  when 
they  saw  how  troubled  and  pale  I  was,  overwhelmed  me  with  questions. 
When  I  told  them  what  I  had  seen  they  began  to  laugh. 

*'A  fortnight  after  we  received  the  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Major 
Solier.  He  had  died  while  being  disembarked  at  Varna,  and  the  date 
of  his  death  corresponded  to  the  day  when  I  saw  him  stretched  out  on 
the  sand  in  the  cellar. " 

It  is  as  difficult  to  explain  this  fact  as  the  preceding  ones, 
in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge.  No  doubt  some  one 
will  say  that  this  was  a  case  in  which  a  ray  of  sunlight 
played  its  part,  that  the  young  girl  was  thinking  of  her 
cousin,  that  she  had  heard  much  talk  of  the  number  of 
deaths  in  the  army,  of  cholera,  of  wounds,  of  sickness,  and 
the  innumerable  dangers  of  this  most  stupid  and  uncalled 
for  of  all  wars,  and  that  what  she  saw  was  an  illusion.  This 
is  easily  said  !  Madame  Feret  is  absolutely  sure  that  she 
saw  the  officer  very  distinctly,  she  saw  with  her  own  eyes  her 
cousin  lying  on  the  sand,  and  it  was  on  the  beach  he  fell, 
when,  dying  of  cholera,  he  was  put  ashore  at  Varna.  Let  us 
also  notice  the  coincidence  of  the  date.  May  we  not  rationally 
think  that  the  officer,  feeling  himself  dying  on  the  shore  of 
a  strange  land,  would  have  naturally  thought  of  the  France 
he  would  never  see  again,  of  Paris,  of  his  parents,  of  the 
young  cousin,  the  remembrance  of  whose  sweet  face  may 
have  charmed  his  last  moments  ?  I  do  not  suppose  for  an  in- 
stant that  his  cousin  in  Paris  really  saw  the  beach  at  Varna ; 
on  the  contrary,  I  believe  that  the  cause  of  the  vision  was 
far  off  on  the  Turkish  shore,  and  that  there  was  telepathic 
communication  between  the  dying  man  and  his  young  cousin. 

Let  us  pass  in  review  some  more  of  these  curious  manifes- 
tations, and  then  sum  up  the  facts.  Theories  and  explana- 
tions can  come  later.  The  more  reports  we  have  of  facts, 
the  more  we  may  feel  that  the  statement  of  our  case  makes 
progress.   I  received  a  few  days  since  a  letter  from  a  deputy, 

55 


THE    UNKNOWN 

a  well-known  poet,  a  man  much  esteemed  for  the  sincerity  of 
his  convictions  and  the  disinterestedness  of  his  life : 

VII.  "  Dear  Master  and  Friend,— It  was  in  1871.  I  was  of  the  age 
when  one  plucks  flowers  in  life's  field,  as  you  gather  stars  in  the 
heavens,  but  in  a  moment  when  I  had  forgotten  my  daily  posey  I  wrote 
an  article  which  landed  me  for  a  certain  number  of  years  in  prison. 
Everything  comes  with  a  sharp  point  to  those  who  have  not  learned 
how  to  wait.  So  I  was  in  the  prison  Saint  Pierre  at  Marseilles.  There 
also  was  Gaston  Cremieux,  who  was  condemned  to  death.  I  was  very 
fond  of  Cremieux  ;  we  had  dreamed  the  same  dreams,  and  had  fallen 
on  the  same  reality.  In  prison,  at  the  hour  for  exercise,  it  happened  one 
day  that  while  we  had  the  happiness  to  converse,  that  the  talk  fell  on 
God  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Some  of  our  fellow-prisoners 
were  proclaiming  themselves  atheists  and  materialists  with  great  vehe- 
mence. I  made  tbem  understand,  after  a  sign  from  Cremieux,  that  it  was 
not  proper  to  boast  of  unbelief  in  the  presence  of  a  man  under  sen- 
tence of  death,  who  believed  both  in  God  and  the  future  life  of  the  soul. 
Cremieux  said  to  me  afterwards  :  '  I  thank  you,  my  friend,  and  when 
they  shoot  me  I  will  come  to  your  cell  and  give  you  proof  of  im- 
mortality.' 

"  On  the  morning  of  November  30th,  at  break  of  day,  I  was  awakened 
suddenly  by  the  noise  of  little  taps  upon  my  table.  I  turned  over,  the 
noise  ceased,  and  I  fell  asleep  again.  Some  moments  after  the  taps 
were  again  audible.  Then  I  jumped  out  of  bed  and  stood  fully  awake 
before  the  table.  The  noise  went  on,  and  was  resumed  once  or  twice, 
just  the  same. 

"Every  morning  on  getting  up  I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  going,  thanks 
to  the  complicity  of  a  kind-hearted  turnkey,  into  the  cell  of  Gaston  Cre- 
mieux, where  he  always  had  ready  for  me  a  cup  of  coffee.  That  da5%  as 
usual,  I  repaired  to  our  rendezvous.  Alas  !  there  were  great  seals  on 
the  cell  door,  and  I  could  see,  by  looking  through  the  spy-hole  (known 
as  a.judas),  that  my  friend  was  not  there.  I  had  just  made  this  terrible 
discovery  when  the  kind  turnkey,  in  tears,  threw  himself  into  my  arms. 

"  '  They  shot  him  this  morning  at  daybreak  !'  he  cried  ;  '  but  he  died 
bravely.' 

"  When  we  met  that  day  in  the  prison-yard  there  was  great  emotion 
among  the  other  prisoners.  Then  I  suddenly  remembered  the  taps  I 
had  heard  that  morning  on  my  table.  I  cannot  tell  what  foolish  fear  of 
being  '  chaffed '  hindered  me  from  telling  my  companions  in  misfortune 
what  had  taken  place  in  my  cell  at  the  very  moment  when  Cremieux 
was  dying,  with  a  dozen  balls  in  his  breast.  I  told  one  of  them,  how- 
ever, Francis  Roustan,  who  at  once  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  grief  had 
made  me  crazy. 

66 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

"  Such  is  the  story  that  I  told  you  the  other  evening.  I  have  written  it 
down  just  as  it  recurs  to  me  as  I  hold  the  pen.  Make  any  use  of  it  that 
you  may  think  useful  in  prosecuting  your  researches,  but  do  not  enter- 
tain the  same  opinion  of  my  state  of  mind  as  my  friend  Roustan,  for 
grief  could  not  have  made  me  mad  in  one  moment  before  any  knowledge 
of  my  friend's  death  had  reached  me.  I  was  in  my  ordinary  condition. 
I  was  not  expecting  the  execution,  and  I  heard  distinctly  the  sounds  on 
the  table.     This  is  the  naked  truth.  Clovis  Hugues." 


According  to  this  it  would  seem  that  at  the  very  moment 
when  Gaston  Cremieux  was  shot  (he  had  been  condemned  on 
June  28th  for  taking  part  in  the  Commune  at  Marseilles),  his 
spirit,  acting  on  the  brain  of  his  friend,  had  given  him  a  sen- 
sation, an  echo,  a  repercussion  of  the  scene  in  which  he  was 
the  victim.  The  firing  could  not  have  been  heard  from  the 
prison  (it  took  place  at  the  light-house),  and  the  noise  was 
repeated  several  times.  This  fact  is  as  strange  as  all  the 
preceding  ones,  but  it  is  surely  difficult  to  deny  that  it  took 
place. 

Further  on  in  this  work  we  will  discuss  explanatory  theo- 
ries. Let  us  now  go  on  with  our  reports,  comparing  them 
with  one  another.  The  collection  is  very  curious  and  very 
varied. 

A  distinguished  savant,  M.  Alphonse  Berget,  a  doctor  in 
science,  holding  a  position  in  the  physical  laboratory  of  the 
Sorbonne,  and  examiner  to  the  Faculty  of  Sciences  in  Paris, 
has  hurriedly  sent  me  the  following  narration  : 

VIII.  ''  My  mother  was  a  young  girl  and  engaged  to  my 
father,  who  was  a  captain  of  infantry.  When  the  thing  took 
place  she  was  living  at  Schlestadt,  in  the  house  of  her  parents. 

"  She  had  had  as  a  friend  from  her  childhood  a  young  girl 
named  Amelie  M.,  who  was  blind.  Amelie  was  the  grand- 
daughter of  an  old  colonel  of  dragoons  who  had  served  in  the 
First  Empire.  Being  left  an  orphan,  she  lived  with  her  grand- 
parents. She  was  a  fine  musician,  a7id  often  sang  ivith  my 
mother. 

**When  she  was  about  eighteen  she  made  up  her  mind  to 
embrace  a  religious  life,  for  which  she  had  a  real  vocation,  and 
she  took  the  veil  in  a  convent  at  Strasbourg.     At  first  she 

57 


THE    UNKNOWN 

wrote  frequently  to  my  mother,  but  after  a  time  her  letters 
came  less  often,  and  at  last,  as  usually  happens  in  such  cases, 
the  correspondence  ceased. 

'^Amelie  had  been  in  religion  about  three  years,  when  one 
day  my  mother  went  up  to  the  garret  to  look  for  something 
she  was  anxious  to  find.  All  at  once  she  ran  back  to  the 
salon  uttering  loud  cries,  and  fell  down  unconscious.  They 
liew  to  her  help,  lifted  her  up,  and  she  came  to  herself,  crying 
with  sobs : 

^' '  Oh,  it  is  horrible  !  Amelie  is  dying — she  is  dead,  for  1 
have  just  heard  her  singing  as  only  a  person  who  is  dead  could 
sing !' 

*^And  another  nervous  seizure  again  made  her  lose  her 
senses. 

"  Half  an  hour  after  this.  Colonel  M.  rushed  like  a  madman 
into  my  grandfather^s  house,  holding  a  despatch  in  his  hand. 
The  despatch  was  from  the  Mother  Superior  of  the  convent 
at  Strasbourg,  and  contained  only  these  words  :  *  Come. 
Your  granddaughter  very  ill.'  The  colonel  took  the  first 
train,  reached  the  convent,  and  heard  that  the  Sister  had  died 
at  three  o'clock  precisely,  the  hour  of  the  nervous  attack  ex- 
perienced by  my  mother. 

*'  This  fact  has  been  often  told  me  by  my  mother,  my  grand- 
mother, and  my  father,  who  were  present,  as  well  as  my  uncle 
and  aunt,  all  of  whom  bear  testimony  that  they  had  witnessed 
this  strange  incident." 

This  fact  is  not  less  worthy  of  attention  than  those  that 
have  preceded  it.  The  name  of  the  narrator  is  a  sure 
guarantee  for  its  authenticity.  Romance  and  imagination  had 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it;  and  the  hypothesis  that 
would  explain  it  seems  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  others. 
Madame  Berget's  friend  at  the  very  moment  of  her  death,  was 
thinking,  intensely,  it  would  seem,  and  possibly  with  much 
regret,  of  the  dear  friend  of  her  childhood,  and  from  Stras- 
bourg to  Schlestadt  the  strong  emotion  of  her  soul  was  in- 
stantaneously communicated  to  the  brain  of  Madame  Berget, 
giving  her  the  illusion  of  a  celestial  voice  singing  a  sweet 
melody.     How  was  this  done  ?    In  what  manner  ?    We  do  not 

58 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMxMUNIC ATIONS 

know.  But  it  would  be  unscientific  to  reject  a  real  coinci- 
dence,  a  relation  between  cause  and  effect,  a  psychical  phe- 
nomenon for  the  sole  reason  that  we  cannot  explain  it. 

*' Chance  is  so  great !"  says  one.  Yes,  so  it  is,  no  doubt, 
but  let  us  be  careful  lest  we  be  influenced  by  long-settled 
opinions.  Can  chance  explain  these  coincidences  by  the  doc- 
trine of  probabilities  ?  This  is  the  point  that  we  shall  soon 
have  to  examine. 

But  let  us  not  waste  time,  we  have  many  other  documents. 

Madame  Ulric  de  Fonvielle  told  me,  on  the  17th  of  January 
of  the  present  year  (1899),  the  following  incident  observed 
by  herself  and  by  all  her  family. 

IX.  She  lived  at  Kotterdam.  One  night  about  eleven  the 
household,  according  to  their  usual  custom,  had  family 
prayers,  then  each  went  to  his  or  her  own  chamber.  Madame 
de  Fonvielle  had  been  in  bed  but  a  few  minutes,  and  was  still 
awake,  when  she  saw  before  her  at  the  foot  of  her  old-fash- 
ioned bedstead  with  its  canopy,  that  its  curtains  were  pulled 
aside,  and  one  of  her  early  friends  (whose  name  was  never 
mentioned  in  the  family  and  whom  she  had  not  seem  for  three 
years  because  of  some  misunderstanding  with  her  family) 
stood  before  her,  as  distinctly  as  if  she  had  been  a  living 
person.  She  was  dressed  in  a  large  white  wrapper,  her  blaok 
hair  hung  loose  upon  her  shoulders,  she  looked  fixedly  at  her 
former  friend  with  her  great  black  eyes,  and,  stretching  out 
her  hand  to  her,  said  in  Dutch  : 

^*^  Madame,  I  am  going  away  now.     Can  you  forgive  me  ?" 

Madame  de  Fonvielle  sat  up  in  bed  and  stretched  out 
her  own  hand  to  grasp  the  hand  extended  to  her,  but  the 
vision  disappeared  suddenly. 

The  room  was  lighted  by  a  night-lamp,  and  everything  in 
it  was  visible.  Just  then  the  clock  struck  the  hour  of  mid- 
night. 

The  next  morning  as  Madame  de  Fonvielle  was  telling  her 
mother  of  this  extraordinary  apparition  there  was  a  ring  at  the 
front  door.  It  was  a  telegram  from  the  Hague  with  these 
words  :  ''Marie  died  last  night  at  11.45." 

M.  Ulric  de  Fonvielle  also  assured  me  that  the  facts  of  the 


THE    UNKNOWN 

apparition  and  of  the  coincidence  between  its  appearance 
and  the  young  girl's  death  are  incontestable.  He  knows 
nothing  to  explain  its  phenomenon,  and,  like  ns,  is  search- 
ing for  a  cause. 

On  the  20th  of  last  March  (1899),  I  received  the  following 
letter  : 

X.  "  My  dear  Master, — You  have  asked  me  to  write  down  the  case  of 
preseutiment,  second-sight,  suggestion,  or  apparition  that  I  mentioned 
to  you. 

"  I  was  about  to  go  to  the  Naval  School.  I  was  waiting,  ready  to  enter 
it,  at  Paris,  in  the  Rue  Ville  I'Evggne,  where  my  mother  was  living.  We 
had  a  man-servant,  a  Piedmontese,  who  was  very  intelligent  and  much 
devoted  to  us,  but  he  was  very  sceptical,  with  certainly  no  tendency  to 
credulity.  If  I  may  use  the  popular  expression:  '  he  believed  in  neither 
God  nor  devil.' 

"One  evening  about  six  o'clock  he  rushed  into  the  salon,  his  face  look- 
ing convulsed:  'Madame!' he  cried,  'Madame!  a  great  misfortune  has 
befallen  me  !  My  mother  is  just  dead  !  Just  now  I  was  in  my  bed- 
room. I  was  rather  tired,  and  had  lain  down  for  a  moment,  when  the 
door  opened.  There  was  my  mother,  pale,  and  looking  very  weak,  stand- 
ing on  the  threshold  and  making  me  a  gesture  of  farewell.  I  rubbed 
my  eyes.  I  thought  it  was  an  hallucination  ;  but  no,  I  saw  her  perfectly- 
I  sprang  towards  her  to  clasp  her  in  my  arms.  She  disappeared.  She  is 
dead  !'  The  poor  fellow  was  crying.  What  I  can  myself  testify  is  that 
a  few  days  later  the  news  arrived  in  Paris  that  his  mother  had  died  the 
very  day  and  hour  when  he  had  seen  her. 

"Baron  Deslandes, 
"Former  officer  in  the  Navy. 

"20  Rue  de  Larochefoucauld,  Paris." 

The  Baroness  StaSe,  whose  charming  books  are  in  every- 
one's hands,  has  communicated  to  me  the  two  following 
cases : 

XL  Madame  S.,  who  became  French  after  her  marriage, 
and  belonged  to  a  celebrated  medical  family,  was  truth  it- 
self. She  would  have  died  rather  than  be  guilty  of  a  false- 
hood. This  is  what  she  told  me.  When  she  grew  up  she 
was  living  in  England,  though  she  was  not  of  a  British  fam- 
ily. When  she  was  sixteen  she  became  engaged  to  a  young 
man,  an  officer  in  the  army  of  India. 

One  spring  day,  at  the  sea-side,  where  she  was  living,  she 

60 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

was  leaning  over  the  balcony  of  her  father's  house  and  think- 
ing of  her  absent  lover.  Suddenly  she  saw  him  in  the  gar- 
den, opposite  to  her,  but  he  was  very  pale  and  emaciated. 
Nevertheless,  she  was  delighted  to  see  him,  and  calling  out  joy- 
ously, ^'  Harry  !  Harry  ! "  she  flew  down-stairs.  She  hurriedly 
opened  the  door,  expecting  to  see  her  beloved.  There  was  no 
one.  She  rushed  into  the  garden,  examined  the  spot  where 
she  had  seen  him,  shook  all  the  bushes,  looked  everywhere 
— there  was  no  Harry. 

Her  friends  followed  her.  They  tried  to  calm  her  ;  they 
wanted  to  persuade  her  that  it  was  an  illusion.  She  would 
only  repeat,  "But  I  sav/  him!  I  saw  him!"  and  remained 
sad  and  uneasy.  Some  time  after  this  she  was  informed 
that  far  out  at  sea  her  betrothed  had  died  suddenly  of  some 
disorder,  on  the  very  day  and  hour  when  she  saw  him  in  the 
garden. 

XII.  Bernadine  was  an  old  servant,  very  ignorant ;  she 
had  never  so  much  as  heard  of  spiritualism,  and  people  said 
she  was  given  at  times  to  too  much  liquor. 

One  evening  she  had  gone  down  into  the  cellar  to  draw 
some  beer,  but  she  came  back  almost  immediately  with  her 
pitcher  empty,  looking  pale  and  ready  to  drop.  They  all 
came  around  her,  saying,  ''  What's  the  matter,  Bernadine  ?" 

"I  have  just  seen  my  daughter — my  daughter  in  America. 
She  was  dressed  all  in  white;  she  looked  ill.  She  said  to 
me,  'Good-bye,  mother.'" 

*'You  are  out  of  your  senses.  How  could  you  have  seen 
your  daughter  ?    She  is  in  New  York." 

'*I  did  see  her.  I  did  hear  her.  Ah,  what  does  that 
mean  ?    She  must  be  dead  !" 

We  all  said  to  one  another,  ''  Bernadine  has  taken  a  drop 
too  much,^' 

But  she  remained  inconsolable,  and  the  next  post  from 
America,  after  the  incident,  brought  Bernadine  news  of  the 
death  of  her  daughter.  She  died  on  the  day  and  at  the  hour 
when  her  mother  had  seen  her  and  had  recognized  hef  voice. 

M.  Binet,  a  typographer  at  Soissons,  sent  me  the  follow- 
ing account  of  a  circumstance  which  happened  to  himself ; 

61 


THE    UNKNOWN 

XIII.  *'  Mezieres,  my  native  village,  had  been  destroyed  by 
a  bombardment  which  lasted  only  thirty-six  hours  but  made 
many  victims.  Among  these  was  the  little  daughter  of  our 
landlord,  who  was  cruelly  wounded.  She  was  eleven  or 
twelve  years  of  age.  At  this  time  I  was  fifteen,  and  very 
often  played  with  Leontine — that  was  her  name. 

'^  About  the  beginning  of  March  I  went  to  pass  a  few  days 
at  Domchery.  Before  I  left  home  I  knew  that  the  poor  lit- 
tle thing  could  never  get  better,  but  change  of  place  and 
boyish  carelessness  made  me  forget  by  degrees  the  sorrows  I 
had  witnessed  and  the  terrible  scenes  I  had  been  through. 
I  slept  by  myself  in  a  long  narrow  room,  the  window  of 
which  looked  out  into  the  country.  One  evening,  when  I 
had  gone  to  bed  as  usual  at  nine  o'clock,  I  could  not  sleep, 
which  was  something  remarkable,  for  as  soon  as  dinner  was 
over  I  could  generally  have  slept  standing.  The  moon  was 
full  and  very  bright.  It  lit  up  the  garden  and  threw  a  strong 
ray  of  light  into  my  chamber. 

''As  I  could  not  go  to  sleep  I  listened  to  the  town  clocks 
striking  the  hours,  which  seemed  to  me  very  long.  I  gazed 
steadily  at  the  window,  which  was  just  opposite  to  my  bed,  and 
at  half-past  twelve  I  thoughtl  saw  a  ray  of  moonshine  moving 
slightly,  then  a  shadowy,  luminous  form  floated  past,  at  first 
like  a  great  white  robe,  then  it  took  a  bodily  shape,  and  com- 
ing up  to  my  bed,  stood  there  smiling  at  me.  I  uttered  a 
cry  of,  '  Leontine  !'  Then  the  bright  shade,  gliding  as  be- 
fore, disappeared  from  the  foot  of  my  bed. 

''Some  days  later  I  went  home,  and  before  any  one  had 
spoken  to  me  of  Leontine,  I  told  them  my  vision.  On  the 
day  and  in  the  hour  when  she  appeared  to  me  the  poor  child 
had  died." 

M.  Castex-Degrange,  assistant  director  of  the  Ecole  des 
Beaux  Arts,  at  Lyons,  sends  me  the  following : 

XIV.  "  My  father-in-law,  M.  Clermont,  a  doctor  of  medi- 
cine, friend  and  pupil  of  Doctor  Potham,  who  has  just  died 
in  Paris,  had  a  brother,  father  of  the  said  doctor,  who  lived 
in  Algeria.  One  morning  my  father-in-law,  who  was  not  in 
the  least  anxious  about  his  brother,  whom  he  believed  to  be 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

in  perfect  health,  was  in  bed.  Before  going  out  to  visit  his 
patients  it  was  his  custom  to  take  a  cup  of  coffee  in  bed. 
He  was  partaking  of  this  little  repast,  and  talking  to  his  wife, 
who  was  sitting  near  him,  when  suddenly  the  bed  under  him 
received  a  shock  so  violent  that  he  was  thrown  backward, 
and  the  cup  of  coffee  he  held  in  his  hand  was  spilled. 

**  Later  he  found  that  at  that  very  hour  her  brother  had 
died  in  Algeria.  He  had  gone  out  bathing  in  the  sea,  when 
something  in  the  water  either  bit  him  or  pricked  him  sharply 
in  the  heel.    Lockjaw  set  in,  and  thirty  hours  after  he  died.'' 

M.  Chaband,  former  chief  of  a  great  school  in  Paris,  a  pro- 
fessor much  esteemed,  to  whom  very  many  of  his  former 
pupils  are  grateful  for  excellent  instruction,  sends  me  the  fol- 
lowing report  of  what  happened  to  himself  : 

XV.  '^  Part  of  my  childhood  was  passed  at  Limoges,  with 
an  old  uncle  who  spoiled  me  exceedingly,  and  whom  I  called 
grandpapa.  We  lived  in  the  first  story  of  a  house,  in  the 
basement  of  which  there  was  a  restaurant. 

"  I  own  with  shame  that  I  often  amused  myself  by  playing 
tricks  on  the  proprietor  of  this  establishment.  Among  othei 
naughty  things  I  did  I  one  day  rushed  suddenly  into  his 
kitchen  and  screamed  out,  'Pere  Garat !  come  quick — my 
uncle  wants  you.'  He  at  once  left  his  saucepans  and  rushed 
up  to  our  door,  where  I  stood  laughing. 

"  Of  course  he  was  very  angry  with  me  and  swore  at  me  as  he 
went  down-stairs,  but  his  threats  did  not  frighten  me,  though 
I  took  good  care  to  keep  out  of  his  reach. 

^'  When  it  was  fine  we  often  walked  towards  the  Pont  Neuf 
on  the  Toulouse  road.  One  evening  in  May,  1851,  when  I  was 
ten  years  old,  between  six  and  seven  o'clock  (I  can  tell  the 
time  exactly,  for  my  memory  of  these  events  is  very  clear),  we 
were  going  out  as  usual,  when  my  uncle  chancing  to  see 
Madame  Eavel,  daughter  of  the  restaurateur,  said  to  her  ' 

"^ How  is  M.  Garat?' 

"^Very  bad,  M.  Chabrol.' 

** '  Shall  I  go  in  and  see  him  ?'     (My  uncle  was  a  doctor.) 

'^ '  It  would  be  of  no  use,  M.  Chabrol.  My  poor  father  is 
dying.' 

63 


THE    UNKNOWN 

'*  Thereupon  we  went  out,  my  old  uncle  much  troubled, 
but  I  was  very  happy  to  be  out-doors. 

*' As  soon  as  we  were  in  the  street,  or  rather  on  the  boule- 
vard (de  la  Corderie),  I  started  my  hoop  and  ran  after  it.  I 
give  these  details,  which  are  certainly  not  to  my  credit,  to 
show  my  state  of  mind  at  the  time ;  my  heart  and  my  brain 
were  quite  free  from  preoccupation,  for  I  humbly  confess  that, 
far  from  being  sorry  for  the  poor  restaurant-keeper,  I  never 
thought  about  him  at  all.  I  regret  to  say  so,  but  it  is  the 
truth. 

*'Not  far  from  the  Pont  Neuf  the  road  to  Toulouse  divides. 
One  part  leads  to  the  Place  de  THotel  de  Ville,  the  other  to 
the  Place  de  la  Cite. 

*^  When  we  got  there  I  stopped  suddenly,  for  I  saw  M.  Ga- 
rat  coming  towards  us,  walking  quietly  in  the  middle  of  the 
road.     With  three  bounds  I  ran  back  to  my  uncle. 

*' '  Bon  papa,"  I  cried,  ^  M.  Garat  is  up  and  out.  Don't 
you  see  him  yonder,  a  few  yards  away  T 

**  *  What  are  you  saying  T  replied  my  uncle,  white  as  a 
sheet. 

"  '  The  truth,  bon  papa.  There  is  M.  Garat — see  !  Just 
look  at  him  with  his  white  cotton  night-cap,  his  blue  blouse, 
and  his  cane.     Why,  there  !  he  is  beginning  to  cough.' 

* "  Go  up  to  him.' 

"  I  did  go  as  near  as  I  dared,  so  as  not  to  be  within  reach  of 
his  hand,  which  I  fancied  was  making  a  gesture  by  no  means 
reassuring. 

**  I  drew  back  in  good  order  to  the  side  of  my  uncle,  who 
said,  '  Let  us  go  home.' 

"  I  rushed  on  before  him.  When  I  reached  the  house  M. 
Garat  had  been  dead  five  minutes,  just  the  time  it  had  taken 
me  to  scamper  home. 

^^I  started  back  to  tell  the  news  to  my  uncle,  who  stag- 
gered, and  said  not  a  word. 

"  These  are  the  exact  facts  of  the  strange  experience  that 
you  asked  me  to  write  down  for  you. 

*' Though  I  am  sure  of  what  I  saw,  and  saw  distinctly,  nearly 
fifty  years  ago,  when  I  was  nothing  but  a  boy,  people  may  ob- 

64 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

ject  that  I  was  deceived  by  a  likeness,  or  that  my  senses  were 
the  sport  of  a  delusion,  but  who  will  say  that  an  old  naval  sur- 
geon like  my  uncle,  a  man  not  credulous  by  nature,  and  little 
prone  to  it  by  his  profession,  was  likely  to  have  been  deceived 
by  what  he  saw  in  full  daylight  at  mid-day ?'' 

During  the  time  when  I  was  busied  in  examining  these 
inexplicable  manifestations  and  apparitions  of  the  dying, 
which  was  in  the  early  months  of  1899,  it  of  course  chanced 
that  I  talked  with  many  persons  on  the  subject,  some  at  my 
own  house,  and  others  elsewhere.  I  soon  ascertained  that 
the  majority  were  in  a  state  of  the  most  complete  scepticism, 
and  had  never  seen  anything  of  the  "icind,  but  there  was  a 
remainder  who  did  know  of  the  existence  of  such  things.  I 
made  a  calculation  that  at  least  one  person  in  twenty  had 
observed  something  of  that  nature  or  hsd  heard  such  things 
related  by  those  around  t.-^m.  Such  persons,  I  thought, 
might  furnish  me  experiences  at  first  hand. 

I  have  now  related  fifteen  cases  reported  to  me  by  people 
with  whom  I  had  personally  direct  relations,  and  I  had  received 
the  recital  of  twenty  others  of  the  same  kind,'  when  an  idea 
occurred  to  me  that  I  might  do  in  France  what  had  been  done 
in  England  a  few  years  since — that  is,  set  on  foot  an  inquiry 
as  to  individual  experiences  in  matters  of  this  kind. 

This  seemed  to  me  an  excellent  way  of  securing  authentic 
testimony  of  ascertaining  its  value.  I  published  the  first 
chapters  of  this  work  in  the  monthly  magazine  of  my  learned 
and  excellent  friend  Adolphe  Brisson,  Annales  PoUtiques  et 
LitteraireSy  whose  subscribers  form  an  immense  family,  in 
frequent  communication  with  its  editors.  There  is  a  sort  of 
intimacy  among  them  that  I  never  observed  elsewhere,  save 
in  the  Bulletin  Mensuel  de  la  Societe  Astronomique  de  France^ 

^  Notably  by  M.  F.  Delonde,  an  ex-deputy,  president  of  the  Optical 
Society  in  Paris  ;  by  M.  Craponne,  an  engineer  at  Lyons ;  by  M.  Dor- 
chain,  a  French  literary  man  at  Paris  ;  by  Madame  Ida  Cail  in  Paris ; 
by  M.  Merger  at  Chaumont  in  the  Haute  Marne  ;  by  Madame  la  Com- 
tesse  de  Mouzay  at  Rambouillet ;  by  Madame  G.  de  Mave  at  Javisy,  etc. 
I  could  also  find  instances  in  Uranie  and  in  Stella.  That  of  M,  Best  is 
very  characteristic. 

E  65 


THE    UNKNOWN 

and  formerly  among  those  of  the  Magazin  Pittoresque, 
This  kind  of  family  feeling  does  not  exist  among  the  readers 
of  the  daily  papers,  or  even  among  suhscribers  to  more  im- 
portant reviews.  A  community  of  ideas  makes  a  link  be- 
tween readers  and  managers — not  that  such  an  association 
becomes  a  kind  of  church  whose  members  are  expected  to 
think  after  the  same  pattern,  there  is  among  these  people 
simply  a  community  of  feeling,  a  good  understanding,  a  de- 
sire to  unite  for  common  objects,  and  to  help  each  other  if 
they  can  in  the  same  researches.  Such  is  at  least  the  im- 
pression I  received  from  the  letters  that  many  readers  sent 
me  after  seeing  my  first  articles. 

I  cannot  say  but  that  among  the  80,000  subscribers  to  the 
Annates  there  may  not  be  (as  there  is  everywhere)  practical 
jokers,  impostors,  people  who  will  believe  anything,  cranks, 
and  so  on.  But  they  are  the  exceptions.  The  immense  majority 
represents  an  honest  average  of  perfectly  sound  sense  ex- 
tending through  all  classes  of  society,  from  the  highest  posi- 
tions to  the  humblest,  men  and  women  of  all  shades  of  re- 
ligious belief. 

There  may  indeed  be  found  among  them,  as  everywhere 
else,  a  class  of  bigots  with  narrow  consciences,  who  are  afraid 
of  their  own  shadows,  and  are  wholly  incapable  of  thinking  for 
themselves.  Such  persons  wrote  me  at  once  that  they  would 
be  as  mute  as  fishes,  that  I  was  engaged  on  subjects  that  were 
none  of  my  business,  that  I  was  troubling  the  minds  of 
young  persons  preparing  for  their  first  communion,  and  that 
such  questions,  which  concerned  the  devil  and  all  his  works, 
should  be  left  to  the  church,  which  oSered  in  its  catechism  a 
way  to  solve  all  mysteries. 

It  is  the  same  reasoning  that  devotees  in  the  temple  of 
Jupiter  brought  against  Socrates.  Where  is  that  temple  to- 
day ?  What  has  become  of  Jupiter  ?  But  all  read  the  dia- 
logues of  Socrates. 

It  seemed  to  me,  I  said  to  myself,  that  it  would  be  a  good 
way  of  ascertaining  the  number,  nature,  and  variety  of  the 
facts  in  which  I  am  interested,  if  I  opened  an  inquiry  in  the 
pages  of  the  Annales  and  asked  its  numerous  and  sympa- 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

thetic  readers   to  tell  me  of  any  such   facts  as  had  fallen 
under  their  own  observation  or  had  been  reported  to  them 
on  good  authority  by  those  connected  with  them.  My  appeal 
appeared  March  26,  1899. 
Here  is  what  I  published  : 

"  These  mysterious  cases  of  apparitions  and  manifestations  on  the  part 
of  the  dying  or  the  dead,  and  of  well-defined  presentiments,  are  as  im- 
portant as  they  are  interesting,  in  order  to  make  us  acquainted  with 
human  nature,  both  corporeally  and  spiritually,  and  this  is  why  we  are 
now  about  to  undertake  this  series  of  investigations  and  of  especial  re- 
search into  a  subject  which,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  beyond  the  usual 
range  of  science  and  literature. 

"We  may  be  able  to  push  our  inquiries  a  little  further  if  we  can  se- 
cure the  assistance  and  sympathy  of  all  readers  of  the  Annales,  and  if 
Ihey  will  but  lend  their  help  to  an  enterprise  that  perhaps  has  been 
hitherto  neglected  and  unknown. 

••  What  we  most  w^ant  is  statistical  testimony,  to  enable  us  to  judge  of 
the  proportionate  number  of  these  psychic  phenomena.  We  could  get 
this  information  in  a  week  if  our  readers — all  our  readers — would  have 
the  extreme  kindness  to  lend  us  their  assistance. 

"Would  they  simply  send  us  a  postal-card  answering  yes  or  no  to  the 
two  following  questions  ? 

"I.  Has  it  ever  happened  to  you  at  anytime  to  experience,  being 
awake,  a  distinct  impression  that  you  saw  or  heard  a  human  being,  or 
were  touched  by  one,  without  being  able  to  refer  this  impression  to  some 
known  cause? 

"  II.  Did  this  impression  coincide  with  the  date  of  any  death?  In 
case  no  impression  of  the  kind  has  ever  been  experienced,  merely  write 
no,  and  sign  it  (with  your  initials  if  you  prefer). 

"  In  the  case  of  any  one  having  personally  observed  a  phenomenon  of 
this  kind,  he  or  she  is  entreated  to  respond  to  the  two  questions,  by  yes 
or  no,  and  then  to  add  a  few  words  indicating  the  kind  of  phenomenon 
brought  under  his  or  her  observation,  and,  if  there  was  any  coincidence 
with  a  death,  state  the  length  of  time  that  elapsed  between  that  death 
and  the  phenomenon. 

•'  In  cases  where  facts  of  this  kind  are  connected  with  dreams,  it  would 
be  well  to  say  so,  if  there  was  any  coincidence  with  a  death. 

'*  Lastly,  if  without  having  observed  or  experienced  such  a  thing  your- 
self, you  should  know  of  any  certain  and  authentic  facts  reported  to  you  by 
others,  it  would  be  very  interesting  if  you  would  abridge  their  narratives 
or  give  them  in  detail. 

"  This  inquiry  may  have  great  scientific  value  if  all  our  readers  will 
be  so  good  as  to  send  answers.    We  offer  them  our  thanks  in  advance. 

67 


THE    UNKNOWN 

There  is  no  question  in  this  matter  of  any  personal  interest ;  it  is,  on  the 
contrary,  a  grave  and  serious  subject  of  interest  to  all." 

As  might  have  been  expected,  all  the  readers  of  the  Annates 
did  not  send  in  their  reports.  To  write  a  card  or  a  letter, 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  assisting  the  elucidation  of  a  problem, 
requires  a  certain  abstract  devotion  to  the  cause  of  truth. 
Good  people  of  that  kind  are  not  common.  To  take  a  few 
moments  away  from  the  habitual  round  of  life,  its  occupa- 
tions, its  pleasures,  or  simply  from  its  idleness,  is  an  effort,  a 
sort  of  virtue,  simple  as  it  may  seem.  Besides  this,  many 
people  fear  ridicule  if  they  have  anything  to  do  with  ideas  of 
this  kind  !  I  am  therefore  deeply  and  sincerely  grateful  to 
all  those  who  have  been  so  very  good  as  to  answer  me,  and  I 
regret  that  for  want  of  time  I  have  not  been  able  to  express 
personally  to  each  of  them  my  thanks  most  sincerely. 

It  would  indeed  be  unjust  to  attribute  the  silence  of  all 
who  did  not  answer  me  to  indifference,  to  laziness,  or  to  fear 
of  ridicule.  For  example,  one  of  the  letters  I  received, 
which  is  marked  No.  24,  begins  thus  : 

''  Since  you  have  started  this  series  of  deeply  interesting 
psyhic  problems,  I  have  been  filled  with  an  ardent  desire  to 
tell  you  a  story  very  closely  connected  with  myself,  but  I 
have  not  the  courage  to  do  so.  Why  not  ?  Is  it  timidity  ? 
No.  It  is  because  of  a  feeling  that  I  cannot  express,  but 
which  must  be  that  of  many  other  persons  among  your  read- 
ers. It  consists  in  saying  to  one^s  self  :  '  What's  the  use  ?  M. 
Flammarion  must  already  have  received  hundreds  of  nar- 
ratives ;  one  more  can  do  no  good,  and  then  among  so  many 
.  .  .  will  it  ever  be  read  V " 

On  the  other  hand  I  have  reason  to  know  that  a  certain 
number  of  persons,  and  that  not  a  small  number,  who  have 
seen  or  experienced  things  of  this  kind  keep  them  secret,  and 
do  not  like  to  confide  them  even  to  near  friends,  sometimes 
out  of  exaggerated  reverence  for  the  remembrances,  some- 
times because  they  shrink  from  letting  any  stranger  comment 
on  their  most  private  affairs,  and  sometimes  merely  because 
they  do  not  care  to  arouse  any  discussion  or  any  criticism  od 
the  part  of  unbelievers. 

6S 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

Dnring  the  following  months  of  June  and  July  (1899)  I 
made  a  similar  request  in  the  Petit  Marseillais  and  in  the 
Revue  des  Revues,  partly  through  a  wish  to  ascertain  the  drift 
of  public  opinion. 

I  received  4280  answers;  2456  were  no,  and  1824  were 
yes.  Out  of  these  last  there  were  1758  letters  that  gave 
more  or  less  details,  but  the  greater  number  were  documents 
that  did  not  suit  my  purpose.  I  picked  out,  however,  786 
important  ones,  which  have  been  classified,  copied  as  to  their 
principal  facts,  and  the  information  they  contained  is  added 
to  my  stock  of  knowledge.  What  struck  me  in  all  these 
narratives  was  the  loyalty,  good  faith,  frankness,  and  delicacy 
of  their  writers,  who  were  careful  to  tell  only  what  they 
knew  and  how  they  came  to  know  it,  without  adding  to  or 
subtracting  anything  from  the  subject.  Every  one  of  them 
was  the  servant  of  truth. 

These  786  letters,  when  copied,  classified,  and  numbered,* 
contained  1130  different  facts. 

The  experiences  treated  of  in  these  letters  offered  several 
subjects  for  our  examination  which  might  be  classified  thus  ; 

Manifestations  from  and  apparitions  of  the  dying. 

Manifestations  from  and  apparitions  of  living  persons  not  ilL 

Manifestations  and  apparitions  of  the  dead. 

Sight  of  things  taking  place  far  off. 

Premonitory  dreams.     Foresight  of  the  future. 

Dreams  showing  the  dead. 

Meetings  foreseen  by  some  inspiration. 

Presentiments  realized. 

Doubles  of  persons  living. 

Movement  of  inanimate  things  without  apparent  cause. 

Communications  of  thought  at  a  distance. 

Impressions  felt  by  animals. 

Cries  heard  from  a  great  distance. 

Bolted  doors  opening  of  themselves. 

Haunted  houses. 

'  Thus  classified,  Nos.  1  to  700  came  from  readers  of  the  Annales,  701 
to  748  from  the  Petit  Marseillais,  749  to  786  from  the  Bevue  des  Revues. 
Many  more  have  come  in  while  this  book  was  being  printed. 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Experiments  in  spiritnalism. 

A  very  great  number  of  these  cases  are  subjective.  They 
have  passed  through  the  brain  of  those  who  relate  them, 
thongh  tliey  owed  their  origin  to  an  exterior  cause.  Very 
many  are  purely  and  simply  hallucinations.  We  shall  have 
to  examine  and  discuss  such  by-and-by.  The  first  truth  they 
teach  us  is  that  there  are  many  tilings  we  do  not  yet  know. 
In  other  words,  that  there  are  unknown  forces  in  nature 
very  interesting  to  study. 

I  will  first  of  all  extract  from  the  letters  I  received  those 
that  tell  of  manifestations  from  the  dying  made  to  persons 
who  were  awake  and  in  a  normal  condition.  I  shall  leave 
out  everything  that  has  to  do  with  dreams.  These  observa- 
tions will  supplement  those  that  have  gone  before.  I  shall 
append  to  them  no  commentary.  Discussion  will  come 
afterwards.     I  only  ask  that  they  may  be  read  with  care. 

I  shall  suppress  all  formulas  of  politeness,  and  also  all 
protestations  of  sincerity  and  of  moral  certainty.  Each  cor- 
respondent affirms  U2)on  Ms  honor  that  he  is  reporting  facts 
exactly  as  he  has  known  them.  I  would  like  this  to  be 
understood  once  for  all. 

XVI.  ^^On  the  29th  of  July,  1865,  Nephtali  Andre  was 
at  sea,  sailing  between  France  and  Algeria,  where  he  was 
going  after  the  academic  courses  of  the  year  closed  at  the 
universities.  Suddenly  he  fancied  he  heard  his  name  dis- 
tinctly called  'Nephtali!*  He  turned,  looked  round  him, 
nobody  was  near.  As  this  voice  exactly  resembled  that  of 
his  father,  whom  he  knew  to  be  ill,  and  as  he  had  heard 
something  of  the  wonders  of  telepathy,  he  instantly  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  there  was  some  relation  between  this 
mysterious  call  and  his  father^s  condition.  He  drew  out  his 
watch  to  make  sure  of  the  moment.  And  on  reaching  his 
destination  he  learned  that  at  the  same  hour  when  he  had 
heard  his  father's  voice  call  '  Nephtali !'  his  father  had  died. 
My  grandfather  was  the  Gabriel  Andre,  who  married  Mademoi- 
selle de  Saules-Lariviere,  a  relation  of  M.  de  Saules-Freycinet, 
the  well-known  Minister  of  War.  Tony  Andre, 

Letters.  "  Pastor  at  Florence." 

70 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

XVII.  ''I  will  answer  yon  as  if  I  were  in  a  witness-box. 
On  Thursday,  December  1,  1898,  after  having  passed  the 
evening  with  my  mother,  I  took  my  lamp  and  went  to  my 
room  to  go  to  bed.  At  once  I  felt  a  sort  of  apprehension; 
something  seemed  clutching  at  my  heart ;  I  felt  that  some 
one  besides  myself  was  in  the  chamber,  some  one  whom  I 
could  not  see,  but  who  neveirtheless  was  there,  or  ought  to 
have  been.  My  room  contained  very  little  furniture  and 
no  hangings,  so  there  was  nowhere  any  one  could  hide.  I 
gave  a  glance  around  and  was  very  sure  that  there  was 
nobody  near  me. 

*^But  the  feeling  that  there  was  somebody  continued.  I 
went  out  into  the  vestibule,  I  looked  down  the  staircase.  I 
saw  nothing.  I  then  had  the  presentiment  that  some  mis- 
fortune was  about  to  befall  me,  that  some  one  was  going  to 
rob  me,  or  to  set  the  house  on  fire,  or  that  a  gendarme  was 
coming  to  arrest  me  for  some  crime  just  committed,  and 
so  on. 

"1  put  my  watch  beside  me  on  a  table,  observing  that  it 
was  half -past  nine,  and  went  to  bed. 

'''The  next  morning  I  received  a  telegram  telling  me  that 
a  very  old  uncle  who  had  been  ill  a  long  time  had  just  died. 
The  telegram  said  nothing  about  what  hour  he  died ;  it  merely 
said  he  died  Thursday,  December  1. 

'*  I  showed  this  despatch  to  my  mother,  saying,  '  He  died 
at  half -past  nine  in  the  evening.'' 

^'I  named  this  hour  also  to  several  of  our  friends,  that  I 
might  have  their  testimony  if  what  I  had  to  tell  were  ever 
laughed  at. 

'^  I  took  the  first  train  to  Janville,  where  my  uncle  had  lived. 
Janville  is  about  twenty  miles  from  Malesherbes.  After  hav- 
ing exchanged  a  few  words  with  my  aunt,  I  asked  her  at 
what  hour  my  uncle  died?  She  and  another  woman  who  were 
watching  beside  the  death-bed,  and  had  been  present  when 
he  passed  away,  answered,  both  at  once,  '  At  half-past  nine 
in  the  evening.^" 

XVIII.  ''In  October,  1897,  my  mother  being  in  a  room 
opening  on  the  dining-room  by  a  door  that  was  standing  open, 

71 


THE    UNKNOWN 

heard  a  sort  of  long-drawn  sigh,  and  seemed  to  feel  a  breath 
pass  over  her  face.  I  was  out,  but  she,  thinking  I  had  come 
home,  and  was  in  the  dining-room,  without  her  having  heard 
me  open  the  front  door,  she  called  out,  'Is  that  you, 
Georges?'  As  nobody  answered,  she  went  into  the  dining- 
room  ;  but  there  was  no  one  there.  When  I  came  in  at  last, 
she  told  me  what  had  happened.  The  next  day  she  received 
a  despatch  informing  her  of  the  death  of  a  cousin  who  lived 
at  Chambon  in  the  Loiret,  about  twelve  or  thirteen  miles  from 
here. 

"  She  left  at  once  for  Chambon,  and  heard  that  her  cousin 
had  died  from  the  effects  of  a  fall  a  few  hours  after  the  acci- 
dent. The  manifestation  coincided  exactly  with  the  hour 
when  this  relation  of  my  mother's  was  dying. 

"Georges  Merlet, 
"  Juge  de  paix  at  Malesherbes,  Loiret." 
Letter  2. 

XIX.  ''On  December  4,  1884,  at  half-past  three  in  the 
morning,  I  being  then  perfectly  awake,  rose  and  got  up.  I 
then  had  a  most  distinct  vision  of  the  apparition  of  my 
brother  Joseph  Bonnet,  sublieutenant  of  Spahis  Third  Kegi- 
ment,  in  garrison  at  Batna  in  the  province  of  Constantino  in 
Algeria.  He  was  then  engaged  in  manoeuvres,  and  we  did 
not  know  exactly  where  he  was.  My  brother  kissed  me  on 
the  forehead.  I  felt  a  cold  shudder  pass  through  me, 
and  he  said,  very  distinctly,  '  Good-lye  Angele,  I  am  dead.' 
Very  much  upset  and  troubled,  I  woke  my  husband, 
saying  to  him,  'Joseph  is  dead.  He  has  just  told  me 
so> 

"  As  that  day,  December  4th,  was  my  brother's  birthday, 
when  he  would  have  been  thirty-three  years  of  age,  and  as 
we  had  been  talking  a  good  deal  about  the  anniversary  the 
night  before,  my  husband  tried  to  persuade  me  that  it  was 
all  the  result  of  my  imagination,  and  he  scolded  me  for  being 
so  visionary. 

"All  that  day,  Thursday,  I  was  very  miserable.  At  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  crot  a  despatch.     Before  it  was 

7;^ 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 


opened  I  knew  what  it  contained.     My  brother  had  died  at 
Kenehela,  in  Algeria,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

"  Angele  Espekon,  nee  Bonket." 

*'  I  certify  that  this  account,  written  by  my  wife,  is  per- 
fectly exact.  OsMAiq-  EsPEROi^", 

"  Captain  on  half  pay  and  Chevalier  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,  Bordeaux." 
Letter  9. 

XX.  "It  was  in  1845,  the  28th  of  October.  My  father 
was  then  fourteen  years  of  age.  He  said  he  was  coming 
back  from  drawing  a  pail  of  water  from  a  well  about  eighty 
yards  from  my  parents'  house.  Now  that  morning  he  had 
seen  his  neighbor,  Sieur  Lenoir,  a  man  fifty  years  of  age, 
come  home  sick  from  his  work ;  he  was  a  shepherd,  employed 
by  M.  Boutteville,  a  farmer  at  Nanteau-sur-Lunain  (Seine-et 
Marne).  To  go  to  the  well  (see  the  diagram  I  have  drawn 
here)  it  was  necessary  to  pass  within  about  twenty  yards  of 
the  habitation  of  Lenoir.  It  was 
then  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. 

"  Having  stopped  with  his  pail 
to  rest,  my  father  turned  round 
and    saw    very    distinctly  within  wjioir  house 
two  yards  of  him  the  Sieur  Lenoir,         ^>**'*' 
with  a  bundle  on  his  back,  coming  ^ 

towards  him.  Thinking  that  he 
was  returning  to  his  work,  my 
father  picked  up  his  pail  and 
went  home.  His  brother  Charles, 
who  was  standing  in  the  yard, 
came  in  a  few  moments  after, 
saying,  ^I  don't  know  what  has 
happened  at  Mother  Lenoir's  !  I 
hear  them  screaming  and  crying 
out  "Alas !  he  is  dead.'''  ' Then 
it  certainly  is  not  old  Lenoir,'  my  father  said,  'for  I  have 
just  seen  him  going  to  his  master's.' 

73 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"Without  loss  of  time  my  grandmother  went  over  to  the 
Lenoirs,  and  learned  that  the  old  man  had  died  at  the  very 
moment  when  the  apparition  appeared  to  my  father/ 

''A.  Bertrand, 
"  School-master  at  Vilbert  (Seine-et-Marne)." 
Letter  11 . 

XXI.  "  We  were  in  the  country.  My  mother  had  a  room 
next  to  that  in  which  we  slept,  my  wife  and  I.  My  mother 
was  quite  old  but  in  good  health,  and  the  evening  before  her 
death  nothing  would  have  led  us  to  suppose  her  end  was 
near  when  she  went  that  night  to  her  chamber. 

''^In  the  morning,  about  half -past  five,  I  was  suddenly 
awakened  by  a  noise  that  I  thought  was  her  bell.  I  jumped 
out  of  bed,  saying  to  my  wife,  ^My  mother  is  ringing.' 
My  wife  replied  that  could  not  be,  for  there  was  not  a  bell  in 
the  house,  which  was  in  the  country,  and  she  added  that  the 
noise  that  had  awakened  me  must  be  the  creaking  of  the 
pulley  in  a  well  that  was  close  under  our  window.  But  that 
creaking  had  never  wakened  me  before.  However,  I 
admitted  the  probability  of  my  wife's  explanation,  and 
attached  no  importance  to  the  sudden  way  in  which  I  had 
been  roused.  I  started  early  for  Lyons.  A  few  hours  after  I 
received  a  despatch  from  my  wife  to  tell  me  that  she  had 
found  my  mother  dead  in  bed,  and  that  there  was  every  indi- 
cation that  death  must  have  taken  place  about  five  or  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning — that  is,  about  the  hour  when  an  in- 
explicable sensation  made  me  fancy  that  she  summoned  me. 

"F.  Gerin", 
"Lawyer  in  the  Circuit  Court  at  Lyons." 
Letter  13. 

XXIL  "I  had  in  my  family  a  few  years  ago  an  old  servant 
named  Sophie.  She  had  nursed  my  mother,  she  had  nursed 
me,  and  helped  to  nurse  my  infant.  She  lived  with  us,  but 
by  reason  of  her  great  age  could  do  no  work  but  attend  to  the 
poultry-yard. 

*  Resembles  the  case  marked  XV. 
74 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

^'Sophie  to  me  was  not  a  mother,  an  old  nurse,  nor  a  ser- 
vant. She  was  Just  Sophie.  I  loved  her  with  all  my  heart, 
as  I  had  done  in  my  infancy.  To  her  I  was  a  divinity — her 
'  own  dear  thing.^ 

**I  was  returning  home  one  night  after  a  long  journey  when 
I  heard  my  name  called  in  a  low  voice  near  me.  I  stopped 
my  horse  at  once  and  got  out  of  the  carriage.  I  saw  nothing. 
I  was  about  to  get  in  again,  thinking  it  all  an  illusion  of  my 
senses,  when  I  heard  my  name  called  a  second  time.  This 
time  the  sound  proceeded  from  inside  the  carriage.  It  was  a 
voice  of  anguish,  as  if  some  one  called  for  help.  I  knew  it 
to  be  the  voice  of  my  poor  Sophie ;  but  she  could  not  be 
there,  for  I  knew  she  had  been  sick  for  some  days.  I  got 
back  into  my  carriage  much  perplexed.  Hardly  was  I  seated 
when  I  heard  myself  called  for  the  third  time,  in  soft  low 
tones,  such  as  she  used  when  I  was  a  baby,  to  put  me  to  sleep. 

"  Then  I  felt  an  undescribable  emotion.  To  this  day, 
whenever  I  remember  it,  I  am  upset  and  troubled. 

''  A  few  hundred  yards  off  I  saw  lights  in  an  inn.  I  got 
down  and  made  a  note  in  my  pocket-book  concerning  the 
strange  thing  that  had  happened  to  me.  An  hour  later  I 
reached  home.  The  first  thing  I  heard  was  that  my  poor 
old  Sophie  had  passed  away  after  an  hour  of  dying  agony. 

**  Georges  Pareis't, 
"Mayor  of  Wiege-Fatz  in  the  Aiane." 
Letter  20. 


XXIII.  ''  On  the  night  of  the  8th  of  May,  1896,  about  half- 
past  nine,  I  was  going  to  bed  when  I  felt  a  sort  of  electric 
shock  which  shook  me  from  head  to  foot.  My  mother  had 
been  ill  for  several  months,  I  ought  to  say,  but  nothing  made 
me  foresee  that  her  end  was  likely  to  be  sudden.  The  shock 
was  so  strange,  so  novel,  that  at  once,  without  reflection,  I 
imagined  it  announced  my  mother's  death.  Under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  emotion  that  this  thought  excited  I  did  not  go 
to  sleep  for  a  long  time,  feeling  a  conviction  that  next  morn- 
ing I  should  have  a  despatch  announcing  all  was  over.  My 
mother  lived  about  thirty  miles  from  Moulins. 

75 


THE    UNKNOWN 

'-  Next  morning,  as  I  had  expected,  a  despatch  summoned 
nie  in  haste.  I  started  at  once,  and  found  my  mother  hardly 
able  to  recognize  me.  She  died  the  next  day,  about  thirty 
hours  after  I  received  the  warning. 

^'^  Those  who  were  watching  her  told  me  that  the  internal 
hemorrhage  of  which  she  died  had  occurred  about  half-past 
nine  on  the  8th  of  May,  the  very  hour  when  I  had  expe- 
rienced the  strange  sensation. 

''The  Abb6  L.  Forestier, 

"Vicar  at  Saint  Pierre  at  Moiilins," 
Letter  23, 

XXIV.  ''Your  request  makes  me  feel  it  my  duty  to  tell  yon 
of  a  thing  that  happened  in  this  little  town  and  which  made 
a  great  impression  on  its  inhabitants.  Here  is  the  simple 
statement.  A  young  fellow  about  fifteen,  servant  of  M. 
Y.  M.  for  some  years,  had  been  ordered  by  his  master  to 
take  the  cattle  to  water.  I  should  tell  you  that  this  boy's 
father  had  been  very  ill  for  two  days,  having  inflammation 
of  the  lungs,  brought  on  by  attending  a  recent  fair  at  Cham- 
beret,  and  that  his  illness  had  not  been  mentioned  to  his 
son. 

"  Now  about  thirty  yards  from  the  stable  the  lad,  as  he  drew 
near  the  watering  -  trough,  saw  suddenly  two  arms  uplifted 
in  the  air,  then  a  spectral  form,  and  at  the  same  time  heard 
groans  and  cries  of  anguish.  The  shock  was  so  great  that 
he  swooned.  He  believed,  as  he  said  when  he  came  to  him- 
self, that  he  had  recognized  his  father.  It  was  between  half- 
past  six  and  seven  in  the  evening. 

"  The  next  day  at  half -past  four  his  father  died,  and  the 
evening  before  he  had  several  times,  at  moments  of  extreme 
suffering,  said  he  wanted  to  see  his  son. 

"All  this  can  be  testified  to  by  a  hundred  people  in  Cham- 
beret,  all  persons  of  honor  and  veracity. 

"  C.  Defaure, 
"Druggist  at  Cliamberet  in  the  Corrize." 
Letter  25. 

XXV.  "Tlie  following  case  may  deserve  to  be  reported  to 

76 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

you.  M.  Destrnbe,  mnsical  director  of  the  114th  Regiment, 
a  man  worthy  of  all  belief,  was  a  few  days  ago  suddenly 
awakened  by  a  voice  calling  ^  Narcisse  V 

"  This  being  his  own  name,  Destrube,  who  was  sure  he  rec- 
ognized the  voice  of  his  father,  sprang  up  in  bed  and  an- 
swered him. 

"This  took  place  between  twelve  and  one  at  night. 

"A  few  hours  later  Destrube  received  a  telegram  telling 
him  that  his  father  was  dead.  He  died  the  same  night  and 
at  about  the  same  hour  when  his  son  had  been  awakened  by 
hearing  him  call  his  name. 

*'  Destrube,  who  was  at  Saint  Maixent,  went  to  Vaubecourt 
(in  the  Meuse)  to  his  father's  funeral,  and  there  learned  that 
the  last  word  uttered  by  his  father  as  he  died  was  Narcisse. 

"If  this  can  be  of  any  use  to  you  in  your  interesting  in- 
quiries I  shall  be  only  too  happy,  dear  master,  to  have  com- 
municated it  to  you,  and  my  friend  Destrube  would  be  ready, 
if  necessary,  to  confirm  it. 

"  SORLET, 
"Captain  of  the  137th  of  the  Line  at  Fontenay-le-Comte  Vendee." 

Letter  27. 

XXVI.  "  In  June,  1879,  one  of  my  cousins  was  serving  as 
a  volunteer  at  Bayonne.  His  parents  lived  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  Charente-Inferieuse,  about  two  hundred  miles 
away. 

"  One  day  his  mother,  on  going  into  the  chamber  usually 
occupied  by  her  son,  saw  him  distinctly  stretched  out  motion- 
less on  his  bed.  She  was  greatly  impressed  by  this.  A  few 
hours  after  a  friend  of  the  family  came  to  the  house  and 
asked  to  speak  to  her  husband,  the  young  soldier's  father. 
Their  conversation  took  place  in  the  middle  of  a  large  court- 
yard, and  the  mother,  standing  at  a  door  forty  or  fifty  yards 
away,  heard  the  friend,  though  he  was  speaking  in  a  low 
voice,  say  to  her  husband,  'Don't  mention  this  to  your  wife.' 
She  cried  out  at  once  that  her  son  was  dead. 

"In  fact,  that  very  moment,  on  getting  back  from  a  military 
march,  he  had  gone  in  to  bathe  at  Biarritz  and  was  drowned, 

77 


THE    UNKNOWN 

about  the  same  time  that  his  mother  saw  his  apparition.  A 
comrade  had  sent  a  telegram  to  the  friend  of  the  family,  ask- 
ing him  to  tell  them  what  had  happened. 

"  Clermaux, 
"  Head  of  the  Bureau  of  Registration  at  Juvigny  (Orne)." 
Letter  39. 

XXVII.  "  My  great-aunt,  Madame  de  Thiriet,  feeling  that 
slie  was  about  to  die  (April  21,  1807),  appeared,  four  or  five 
hours  before  her  death,  to  be  thinking  deeply,  but  entirely 
insensible  to  things  around  her.  '  Do  you  feel  worse  T 
asked  the  person  who  told  me  this  story.  '  No,  my  dear,  but 
I  have  just  sent  for  Midon  to  attend  to  my  burial.' 

"  Midon  was  a  person  who  had  once  been  my  aunt's  servant, 
and  who  lived  at  Eulmont,  a  village  about  five  miles  from 
Nancy,  where  Madame  de  Thiriet  was.  The  person  watching 
beside  the  death-bed  thought  the  dying  woman  was  dreaming, 
but  two  hours  after  she  was  amazed  to  see  Midon  come  in 
carrying  her  black  clothes  in  her  arms,  and  saying  that  she 
had  heard  madame  calling  her  to  come  and  see  her  die,  and 
to  perform  for  her  the  last  offices. 

''A.  d'Arbois  de  Juranville. 
"Formerly  in  charge  of  streams  and  forests  near  Nancy. 

Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.'* 
Letter  30. 

XXVIII.  'an  1875  my  mother's  first  cousin,  M.  Claudius 
Perichon,  then  chief  bookkeeper  at  the  metalurgic  factory  at 
Horme,  in  the  commune  of  Saint  Julien-en-Jarret  (in  the 
Loire),  having  gone  into  the  tobacco  department,  saw  my 
mother  distinctly  in  the  show-window.  Next  day  he  had 
news  of  her  death.  Could  my  mother  have  been  thinking  of 
her  cousin  in  her  last  moments  ?  I  cannot  tell.  At  all  events, 
the  truth  of  this  story  cannot  be  questioned.  My  cousin  told 
it  often  to  his  children,  who  related  it  to  me.  He  is  a  man 
of  some  education,  reserved,  serious,  full  of  good  sense,  and 
worthy  of  credit. 

"Berger, 

"  School-maBter  at  Roanne." 
Letter  39, 

78 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

XXIX.  "  My  mother's  father  lived  at  Huningne,  and  was 
its  mayor.  Not  long  after  its  siege  he  received  word  that  his 
father,  who  was  living  about  ten  miles  from  Huningne,  was 
dangerously  ill.  In  a  moment  he  had  the  saddle  put  on  his 
horse,  and  was  off  as  fast  as  possible.  On  his  way  his  father 
appeared  to  him,  standing  at  the  head  of  his  horse,  which 
shied  and  reared.  His  first  thought  was  that  his  father  was 
dead,  and,  indeed,  when  he  reached  Rixheim,  three-quarters 
of  an  hour  later,  he  discovered  that  his  father  had  breathed 
his  last  at  the  moment  when  he  had  seen  the  apparition. 

*'  My  mother,  Madeleine  Saltzmann,  then  a  young  girl,  mar- 
ried, a  few  years  after,  my  father,  Antoine  Rothea,  a  notary  at 
Altkirch,  where  he  was  employed  for  thirty  years.  I  suc- 
ceeded him,  and  after  the  war  in  1870  I  quitted  Alsace  and 
took  up  my  residence  in  France.  Latterly  I  have  been  living 
at  Orquevaux,  in  the  Haute-Marne,  your  own  department. 

^'E.  Rothea." 
Letter  40. 

XXX.  ''My  dear  mother  died  Saturday,  April  8, 1893.  The 
previous  Wednesday  I  had  received  a  letter  from  her  saying 
that  she  had  no  more  trouble  with  her  heart,  and  speaking  of 
an  expedition  she  had  made  on  Saturday,  April  1st,  to  our 
country  place  at  Wasselonne.  I  had  intended  to  go  out  on 
this  Saturday,  April  8th.  I  dined  quietly  at  noon,  but  about 
two  o'clock  I  felt  excruciating  pains.  I  went  up  to  my  room 
and  flung  myself  into  an  easy-chair,  where  I  burst  into  tears. 
I  saw  my  mother  lying  on  her  bed,  wearing  a  white  muslin  cap 
with  ruffles,  such  as  I  had  never  seen  her  wear ;  and  she  was 
dead.  My  old  servant,  becoming  anxious  because  she  did  not 
hear  my  footsteps,  came  up  and  was  surprised  to  see  me  in 
such  despair.  I  told  her  what  I  had  seen  and  the  anguish 
that  I  felt.  She  said  it  must  be  my  nerves,  and  made  me 
complete  my  toilette.  I  went  out  of  my  house  like  a  person 
who  knows  not  what  he  is  doing.  Five  minutes  later  I  heard 
the  steps  of  my  husband  coming  up  behind  me.  He  was 
bringing  me  a  despatch.  *  Mother  hopeless.  Will  not  live 
through  the  night.'     '  She  is  dead,'  I  cried.     'I  knew  it.    I 

saw  her.' 

79 


THE    UNKNOWN 

*'  I  went  home,  and  we  made  ready  to  start  by  the  next  train. 
It  was  half -past  two,  Paris  time,  when  I  saw  my  mother  lying 
on  her  death-bed,  and  three  hours  later  we  learned  by  tele- 
graph that  she  had  died  suddenly  at  half -past  three,  Stras- 
bourg time.  She  had  not  felt  ill,  but  had  lain  down  two  hours 
before  her  death,  complaining  of  being  very  sleepy,  and  she  had 
no  idea  of  dying,  for  she  got  my  father  to  read  her  a  letter, 
standing  at  the  foot  of  her  bed.  She  did  not  ask  to  see  hei 
children,  but  I  think  she  must  have  been  thinking  of  me  in 
her  last  moments.  When  I  arrived  at  Strasbourg,  Monday, 
about  eleven  o'clock,  my  mother  had  been  buried,  but  those 
who  dressed  her  wrote  to  me  that,  just  as  I  had  seen,  she  wore 
the  muslin  cap,  and  was  laid  with  it  in  her  coffin. 

^^A.  Hess. 

"Alby."  Letter  43. 

XXXI.  "A  young  medical  student,  doctor  at  a  hospital, 
was  attacked  by  some  trouble  in  his  throat,  which  was  not 
thought  of  much  consequence.  One  evening  he  went  to  his 
room,  not  feeling  more  sick  than  usual.  He  lay  down,  and 
it  is  supposed  went  to  sleep.  In  the  small  hours  of  the  night 
a  Sister  of  Charity,  who  was  a  nurse  in  the  hospital,  was 
aroused  by  a  sharp  knocking  on  her  door.  She  got  up  at 
once,  and  the  raps  becoming  more  and  more  persistent, 
she  rushed  to  the  door,  but  saw  no  one.  She  inquired.  No 
one  else  had  heard  anything.  In  the  morning,  at  the  usual 
hour  for  rising,  the  man  who  had  the  room  next  to  that  of 
the  young  student,  being  uneasy  because  he  did  not  hear 
him  move,  went  into  his  chamber,  and  found  him  lying  dead, 
his  hands  clasped  tightly  round  his  throat.  He  had  died  of 
a  hemorrhage. 

"  The  nun  then  understood  the  rapping  at  her  door.  She 
thought  it  probable  that  the  poor  man  dying  had  thought 
of  her,  for  they  knew  each  other  well.  If  she  had  been 
near  him  her  help  might  have  saved  him. 

'^If  you  publish  this,  I  beg  you  to  change  my  name  and  the 
name  of  the  town  where  it  took  place,  for  our  people  are  all 
'fin  de  siecle/  and  they  mock  at  everything. 

Letter  43.  "A.  C.^' 

80 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

XXXII.  '*  In  1887  my  grandmother  came  to  live  with  ray 
parents.  She  was  then  eighty.  I  was  twelve,  and  I  went 
daily  in  company  with  one  of  my  friends,  two  years  older 
than  myself,  to  the  commnnial  school  in  the  Rue  Bonlard,  at 
Paris.  My  grandmother  was  poorly,  but  nothing  made  us 
suspect  that  her  death  was  near.  I  may  add  that  my  friend 
often  came  to  our  house,  and  that  we  lived  within  ten  min- 
utes' walk  of  each  other. 

^'  One  morning  when  I  woke  up,  about  seven  o'clock,  my 
mother  told  me  that  my  grandmother  had  died  about  an  hour 
before.  It  was  naturally  decided  that  that  day  I  should  not 
go  to  school.  My  father,  when  at  nine  o'clock  he  went  to  the 
,  Hotel  de  Ville,  where  he  was  employed,  passed  by  the  school- 
house,  and  went  in  to  tell  the  master  of  the  misfortune  that 
had  befallen  us.  He  replied  that  he  knew  it  already,  for  my 
friend,  when  he  came,  told  him  that  my  grandmother  had 
died  that  morning  at  six  o'clock.  No  communication  had 
taken  place  between  our  house  and  that  of  my  friend,  nor  be- 
tween our  house  and  the  school.  Such  is  the  fact.  It  is  in- 
disputable, and  I  am  ready  to  bear  witness  to  it  in  any  legal  way. 

'*Now  for  the  explanation,  given  to  us  the  next  day  or  the 
day  after  by  my  school-fellow.  He  woke  up  in  the  night 
and  saw  beside  him  his  young  sister  who  had  died  some  years 
before.  She  came  into  his  chamber,  holding  my  grand- 
mother by  the  hand,  who  said  to  him  :  '  To-morrow  at  six 
o'clock  I  shall  be  no  longer  in  this  world.'  Now  did  he 
hear  this  ?  Was  he  exact  and  truthful  in  what  he  rej)orted  ? 
I  cannot  tell.  But  what  is  certain  is  that,  on  the  faith  of 
this  vision,  he  told  our  school-master  in  the  most  precise  way 
a  fact  that  he  could  not  possibly  have  presaged  or  known 
for  certain. 

''M.  Mine, 
"Sixth  Section  of  the  Military  Administration,  Cb^lons-sur-Marne," 

Letter  44. 

XXXIII.  *'0n  January  22,  1893, 1  was  summoned  by  a  de- 
spatch to  my  aunt,  who  was  eighty-two  years  old,  and  had 
been  ill  for  some  days. 

81 


THE    UNKNOWN 

''When  I  arrived  I  found  my  dear  aunt  dying,  and  she 
could  hardly  speak.  I  sat  down  by  her  bed,  not  meaning  to 
leave  her  until  all  was  over.  About  ten  o'clock  at  night  I 
was  awake,  sitting  in  an  armchair  near  her,  when  I  heard  her 
call  in  a  surprisingly  loud  voice,  ^ Lucie!  Lucie!  Lucie!'  I 
got  up  quickly,  and  found  that  my  aunt  had  lost  conscious- 
ness, and  I  heard  the  death-rattle.  Ten  minutes  after  she 
was. no  more. 

*' Lucie  was  another  niece  of  my  aunt,  and  her  god-daugh- 
ter, who  had  not  come  to  see  her  as  often  as  she  thought  she 
ought  to  have  done,  and  she  had  complained  of  this  to  her 
sick-nurse  several  times. 

*'  The  next  day  I  said  to  my  cousin  Lucie  :  '  You  must 
have  been  surprised  at  receiving  a  despatch  telling  you  of 
the  death  of  our  aunt.'  'No,^  she  said,  'I  was  expecting  it. 
Just  imagine  ;  last  night  about  ten,  when  I  was  in  a  deep 
sleep,  I  suddenly  woke  up,  hearing  my  aunt  call,  "Lucie! 
Lucie!  Lucie!"    I  did  not  go  to  sleep  again  all  night.' 

'*  This  is  a  fact.  I  assure  you  it  is  quite  exact,  and  I  beg 
you,  if  you  publish  it,  only  to  put  my  initials,  for  the  town 
in  which  I  live  has  a  population  made  up  of  people  who  are 
frivolous,  ignorant,  or  else  bigoted  hypocrites. 

Letter  47.  "P.    L.   B." 

XXXIV.  "1  had  an  uncle  who  once  served  with  the  Zou- 
aves. His  captain  was  very  fond  of  him  at  one  time,  but  it 
chanced  that  their  intimacy  at  last  ceased.  Several  years 
after,  one  morning  lying  awake  in  bed,  my  uncle  had  a  dis- 
tinct impression  that  he  saw  his  captain  enter,  come  up  to  the 
foot  of  the  bed,  look  at  him  for  a  moment  without  speaking, 
then  turn  and  disappear.  My  uncle  got  up  and  questioned 
everybody  in  the  house,  but  no  one  had  seen  anything. 
Some  days  after  he  heard  of  the  death  of  his  captain,  on  that 
very  day.  Did  he  verify  the  hour  of  his  death  and  the  hour 
of  the  vision  ?    I  cannot  tell. 

''Eugene  Eoyer, 
"Druggist  to  the  First  Class  of  the  High  School  in  Paris. 
' '  La  Ferte-Milon.     (Aisne. )"  - 
Letter  49. 
82 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

XXXV.  '^I  can  tell  yon  an  authentic  fact  wliicli  I  had  from 
one  of  the  witnesses.  Here  it  is :  Ten  or  twelve  monks,  sit- 
ting in  a  hall  of  their  own  house,  were  conferring  together. 
Suddenly  the  shutter  of  one  of  the  windows  was  violently 
closed  with  a  horrible  sound  of  creaking.  At  the  same  mo- 
ment one  of  them  (or  several — I  don't  remember  which)  got 
up  and  cried  aloud,  ^A  misfortune  has  fallen  on  us  —  our 
superior  is  dead !'  The  superior  was  then  at  the  mother- 
house  at  some  distance.  The  next  day  the  monks  received 
the  fatal  news.  Their  superior  had  died  at  the  very  hour 
when  the  shutter  tvas  so  sudde^ily  closed.  This  story  has  al- 
ways greatly  puzzled  me.* 

"JOAN^IS  Jaivtyier, 
"  Anzy-le-Duc,  near  Narcigny  (Saone-et-Loire)." 
Letter  52. 

XXXVI.  "A  year  and  a  half  ago  my  father,  a  cousin  living 
with  us,  and  my  sister  were  talking  together  in  our  dining- 
room.  They  were  alone  in  the  room  (no  one  else  was  pres- 
ent) when  they  suddenly  heard  the  piano  being  played  in  the 
parlor.  Much  surprised,  my  sister  picked  up  the  lamp  and 
went  into  the  parlor,  where  she  distinctly  saw  several  of  the 
keys  put  down,  as  if  struck  by  somebody  ;  they  made  sounds 
and  rose  again. '^  She  came  back  and  told  the  others  what  she 
had  seen.  They  all  laughed  at  first  at  her  story,  saying  a 
mouse  had  something  to  do  with  it ;  but  as  she  had  excellent 
sight,  and  was  not  in  the  least  superstitious,  they  began  to 
think  the  thing  was  strange. 

^'  A  week  later  came  a  letter  from  New  York  which  told  of 
the  death  of  an  old  uncle  who  lived  there.  But  what  was 
more  extraordinary,  three  days  after  the  arrival  of  this  letter 
the  piano  began  to  play  again,  and,  as  it  had  done  the  first 
time,  it  announced  a  death,  that  of  our  aunt,  who  died  a 
week  after  her  husband. 

"  This  aunt  and  uncle  had  been  a  most  united  couple,  and 
they  had  kept  up  their  attachment  for  all  their  French  rela- 

*It  resembles  cases  I.,  II.,  and  XIV. 

*M.  Victorien  Sardou  told  me  that  he  had  once  known  a  similar  thing, 

83 


THE    UNKNOWN 

tions  and  for  their  Jura,  the  department  from  whence  they 
came.  The  piano  has  never  since  played  of  itself.  Those 
who  saw  this  scene  will  certify  to  the  truth  of  what  I  have 
said,  if  you  wish  it.  We  live  in  the  country,  near  Neuchatel, 
and  I  assure  you  that  no  one  considers  us  nervous. 

"Edourd  Paris, 
"Artist,  near  Neuchatel,  Switzerland." 
Letter  54. 

XXXVII.  *'l  was  finishing,  in  1885,  my  last  year's  service  at 
the  arsenal  of  Tarbes,  where  I  was  working  as  a  blacksmith. 
Early  in  the  night  of  the  20th  of  May  I  was  awakened  by  a 
light  ^  which  flashed  before  my  eyes.  I  looked  up,  and  saw  at 
the  foot  of  my  bed,  on  my  left  hand,  a  shining  disk,  whose 
light,  not  very  bright,  resembled  that  of  a  night  -  lamp. 
Without  seeing  any  figure,  without  hearing  any  noise,  there 
came  into  my  mind  the  persuasion  that  I  had  before  me  one 
of  my  cousins  who  lived  at  Langon,  and  who  was  very  ill. 
After  a  few  seconds  the  vision  disappeared,  and  I  found  my. 
self  sitting  on  my  bed.  'You  simpleton,'  I  said,  aa  I  caught 
hold  of  myself,  "^it  was  nothing  but  a  nightmare.'  Next  day, 
as  usual,  I  went  to  the  shop,  and  there,  at  half  -  past  eight,  I 
received  a  despatch  telling  me  of  my  cousin's  death  about 
one  o'clock  at  night.  I  asked  leave  to  be  away  three  days 
that  I  might  see  him  once  more.  We  had  been  brought  up 
together,  and  we  loved  one  another  like  brothers. 

'^I  told  my  uncle  Lepaye  when  I  arrived  what  I  have  here 
written  ;  I  also  told  his  wife  —  my  god-mother.  They  were 
the  father  and  mother  of  the  dead  man  ;  they  are  still  living, 
and  can,  if  necessary,  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  what  I  am 
telling  you,  without  '  arranging  the  details,'  as  you  blame 
some  of  your  correspondents  for  doing. 

''Eloi  Descamps. 
"At  Bommes  in  the  Gironde." 

Letter  56. 

XXXVIII.  '^A  few  days  before  July  24,  1895,  I  had  just 

^  Observe  the  impression  made  upon  the  optic  nerve,  natural  in  a  black* 
smith  accustomed  to  beat  out  red-hot  iron  on  an  anvil. 

84 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

undressed  myself  and  was  standing  near  my  bed ;  my  hus- 
band was  in  his  dressing-room  at  the  moment.  I  saw,  being 
quite  awake,  the  aged  face  of  my  grandmother — much  more 
wrinkled  than  usual,  and  pale  as  a  head  of  death.  It  lasted 
no  longer  than  a  flash  of  lightning,  but  I  was  sorely  troubled. 
I  said  nothing  about  it  at  the  moment — such  things  always 
seem  absurd  to  those  to  whom  they  are  told ;  but  the  next 
morning  my  mother  sent  me  word  that  my  grandmother  had 
had  a  stroke  of  paralysis  which  left  her  without  consciousness. 
She  died  a  few  days  after.  I  did  not  note  whether  the  time 
of  her  stroke  corresponded  exactly  with  that  of  my  vision. 

"I  am  a  fervent  Catholic,  thirty-five  years  old,  wife  of  a 
lawyer ;  all  that  treats  of  things  beyond  this  life  interests  me 
greatly.  But  I  beg  you  not  to  publish  my  name,  for  in  the 
town  in  which  I  live  there  are  light-minded  persons  who  care 
for  nothing  but  frivolities.  L.  M." 

Letter  63. 

XXXIX.  **  In  January,  1888,  I  lost  my  grandmother.  She 
had  called  her  children  round  her  to  bid  them  a  last  adieu. 
All  were  present  at  the  moment  of  her  death  except  one  of 
my  aunts  who  is  still  a  nun  in  Brazil.  My  grandmother 
spoke  of  her  regret  that  she  could  not  see  this  daughter. 
Mamma  was  charged  to  send  her  the  sad  news.  Two  months 
later  she  received  a  letter  from  my  aunt  which  told  her  that 
one  evening  just  as  she  had  gone  to  rest  she  heard  steps 
going  round  her  bed.  She  turned,  but  saw  nothing ;  sud- 
denly the  curtains  opened,  and  she  felt,  as  it  were,  a  hand 
laid  upon  her.  She  was  alone  in  her  room  and  had  a  light. 
Her  first  thought  was  that  one  of  her  relations  must  be  dead, 
and  she  began  at  once  to  pray  for  his  soul.  She  wrote  down 
the  date,  the  day,  and  the  hour,  and  it  was  precisely  at  the 
time  her  mother  died  that  she  received  this  impression. 

''M.  Odeon-, 
"School-mistress  at  Saint  Genix-sur,  Guiers,  Savoy." 
Letter  68. 

XL.  "  My  father  at  one  time  employed  a  person  named  De 
Fantrac,  who  came  from  Agneaux  near  Saint  Lo.     He  was 

85 


THE    UNKNOWN 

an  excellent  fellow,  kindly  and  jovial,  and  liked  to  play 
tricks  on  the  lads  of  the  village.  Many  now  remember  jokes 
played  on  them  for  which  they  would  have  liked  to  hang 
him. 

'*  In  spite  of  this,  every  one  was  fond  of  him,  because  of  his 
pleasant  humor.  We  all  loved  him.  The  poor  fellow,  who 
had  served  seven  years  m  the  naval  brigade  in  Senegal  had 
brought  home  malarial  fever,  and  was  subject  to  a  renewal  of 
it.  He  was  anaemic,  and  he  became  consumptive.  My  fa- 
ther, who  was  much  attached  to  him,  took  care  of  him  in  our 
house  for  some  months.  But  De  Fantrac  growing  worse,  he 
was  forced  to  take  to  his  bed,  and  my  father  obtained  his  ad- 
mission to  the  hospital  at  Granville.  There  he  remained 
under  the  doctor's  care  three  months,  and  then  he  died. 

'''Every  Sunday  regularly  my  father  went  to  see  him,  to 
comfort  him  and  to  carry  him  something  nice  to  eat.  One 
Monday,  the  day  after  one  of  these  visits,  when  he  had  found 
the  sick  man  apparently  much  better,  my  father  and  mother 
were  both  suddenly  awakened  by  a  violent  blow  struck  on 
the  head-board  of  their  bed. 

''' What's  the  matter?'  cried  my  mother,  greatly  terrified. 
'  Did  you  hear  some  one  knocking  on  the  bed  ?'  My  father, 
not  wishing  to  seem  frightened,  although  he  had  been  roused 
from  his  sleep  by  the  same  noise,  got  up,  lit  the  lamp,  and 
looked  at  the  clock.  '  Tiens  ^  he  said.  '  I  have  a  presenti- 
ment. I  think  poor  Fantrac  is  dead.  He  always  told  me  he 
would  warn  me.'  As  soon  as  it  was  day  my  father  set  out  for 
Granville.  When  he  reached  the  hospital  he  asked  to  see, 
though  it  was  so  early,  the  man  of  the  name  of  Fantrac. 
They  told  him  he  had  died  at  two  o'clock  that  morning,  ex- 
actly the  time  when  my  father  had  been  so  suddenly  awak- 
ened. 

**I  have  told  this  story  many  times.  I  never  found  any 
hearers  but  sceptics,  or  men  disposed  to  consider  me  the  vic- 
tim of  superstition.  I  even  at  one  time  said  to  my  parents, 
'It  was  only  a  coincidence,  a  nightmare — something  of  the 
kind.'  But  my  father  always  answered,  *^No,  I  was  not 
dreaming,  nor  your  mother  either.' 

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OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

*^  The  fact  is  not  to  be  disputed.  Oh,  if  yon  only  conld  by 
this  inquiry  throw  a  little  light  upon  these  wondrous  prob- 
lems! P.  Bouchard, 

"  Postmaster  at  Granville  (Meurthe)." 
Letter  71. 

XLI.  '^My  father,  when  he  was  twenty  years  old,  found 
himself  alone  in  a  house  where  soon  after  midnight  there  was 
a  terrible  racket  in  one  of  the  rooms  ;  then  the  front  door 
opened  with  great  noise.  My  father,  who  slept  au premier, 
woke  with  a  start,  and  at  the  same  time  his  father,  who  was 
on  the  ground  floor,  called  out  to  know  if  he  was  in  his  room 
or  if  he  had  gone  down  into  the  yard,  and  why  he  had  made 
such  a  noise.  My  father  made  haste  to  go  down-stairs, 
vehemently  expressing  his  astonishment  at  what  had  hap- 
pened. Father  and  son  not  being  able  to  make  anything  out 
of  it,  shut  the  front  door,  bolted  it,  and  went  back  to  bed. 
But  very  soon  the  same  thing  happened  again,  and  papa  and 
grandpapa  once  more  met  at  the  front  door,  which  was  wide 
open.  They  shut  it  "very  carefully  and  again  went  back  to 
bed.  A  third  time  the  same  thing  occurred.  Then  they 
closed  the  door  and  tied  it  with  a  stout  rope.  The  rest  of 
the  night  passed  undisturbed. 

'*^Some  time  after  a  letter  arrived  telling  of  the  death  of  a 
brother  of  my  grandfather,  who  had  settled  in  America. 
The  date  of  his  death  coincided  with  that  of  the  events  men- 
tioned, only  this  brother  had  died  about  one  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon. 

"Afterwards  we  heard  that  he  had  had  a  strong  desire  to 
see  once  more  his  relatives  in  Alsace,  and  when  those  beside 
him  thought  him  dead  he  suddenly  opened  his  eyes,  exclaim- 
ing :  '  I  have  just  made  a  long  journey.  I  have  been  to  see 
my  brother  at  Brumath.'    And  then  he  died. 

*^  Caroline  Baeschly." 
Letter  72. 

XLII.  *'  Personally  I  have  no  telepathic  phenomenon  to 
record  for  you;  but  the  day  before  yesterday  several  persons 
were  speaking  at  my  house  of  your  learned  researches.     A 

87 


THE    UNKNOWN 

person  whose  word  may  be  taken  for  truth,  told  us  that  a 
person  attending  on  his  mother  in  her  last  moments,  had,  just 
before  she  died,  sprinkled  a  good  deal  of  eau  de  Cologne 
over  her.  At  the  same  moment  a  sister  o"  the  man  who  told 
me  this,  who  was  a  hundred  and  ninety  miles  away,  felt  a  sud- 
den conviction  that  her  mother  was  dead,  and  distinctly  per- 
ceived a  strong  smell  of  eau  de  Cologne,  although  no  bottle 
of  that  perfume  had  been  near  her.     This  lady  knew  that  her 

mother  was  seriously  ill. 

"  Octave  Marais, 
"  Formerly  head  of  the  Bar  at  Rouen." 

Letter  80. 

XLIII.  ^^On  the  19th  of  December,  1898,  I  had  a  very 
curious  experience.  The  facts  I  am  about  to  relate  can  be 
testified  to  by  all  my  friends  and  by  my  household,  for  they 
made  on  many  a  deep  impression. 

'^My  husband  was  away  at  the  time ;  he  left  on  the  19th  for 
a  short  journey.  I  took  the  eldest  of  my  three  children  into 
my  chamber.  He  was  a  boy  seven  years  old.  The  bolts  of  all 
the  doors  were  safe.  I  am  easily  frightened,  and  our  house  is 
rather  lonely.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  woke  up, 
and  my  boy  too.  We  heard  steps,  distinct  but  cautious,  going 
towards  the  door  of  the  children's  chamber,  and  then  coming 
towards  mine.  At  the  same  time  the  latch  of  the  children's 
door  was  lifted,  but  the  door  was  locked  and  it  did  not  open. 
I  jumped  out  of  bed  and  called  out,  *  Anna  (the  name  of  the 
nnrse),  is  that  you  ?'  There  was  no  answer.  I  went  back  to 
bed,  sure  that  Anna  had  got  up  in  the  night  for  some  reason. 
Great  was  my  fright  when  at  breakfast  I  learned  that  she  had 
never  been  out  of  bed. 

"  Two  days  later  I  heard  of  the  death  of  a  near  relative  of 
certain  persons  who  had  hired  rooms  in  our  house.  She  died 
on  the  19th,  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night. 

"  Jeai^ke  Banaud  d'Eberle." 
Letter  88. 

XLIV.   '^This  is  the  story  that  I  heard  told  to  Madame 

la  Marquise  de about  five  years  ago,  when  I  was  tutor 

88 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

to  her  son.  The  Marquise  was  dining  one  day  with  one  of 
her  friends  in  Paris.  The  guests  were  many,  and  all  were 
very  gay,  so  that  their  emotion  was  great  when  suddenly  a 
young  girl  among  them  uttered  a  loud  scream  and  fell  back 
in  her  chair,  sobbing  bitterly.  Everybody  rushed  to  her  re- 
lief. 'There!  there!"  she  cried,  pointing  to  a  glass  door 
which  led  into  the  dinning-room.  'My  mother  has  appeared 
to  me !  My  mother  is  dead!'  In  vain  they  tried  to  calm  her 
and  to  chase  this  terrible  suspicion  from  her  mind. 

''A  very  uncomfortable  feeling  soon  spread  among  the 
guests.  Twenty  minutes  after  there  was  a  ring  at  the  front 
door.  Some  one  had  come  to  take  home  Mademoiselle  X., 
and  told  the  servants  that  a  great  misfortune  had  befallen 
her.     Her  mother  had  died  suddenly. 

''E.  Lemoissioit, 
"Professor  at  the  College  of  Vire." 
Letter  94. 

XLV.  ''One  of  my  relations  having  gone  into  the  country 
on  business,  the  first  night  that  she  slept  in  her  chamber  she 
found  her  bed  shaken  and  uplifted  by  some  unknown  agency. 
It  was  eleven  o'clock  at  night ;  she  lit  a  candle,  and  saw  in  the 
middle  of  her  room  a  very  big  dog,  with  his  eyes  fixed  on 
her.  After  a  few  moments  he  disappeared,  jumping  through 
one  of  the  window  panes  without  leaving  any  trace  of  his  pas- 
sage. She  left  early  the  next  morning,  feeling  sure  that  some 
misfortune  had  befallen  in  her  home,  and  she  learned  on- 
reaching  it  that  M.  X.,  an  officer  of  the  army,  conscious  of 
being  the  victim  of  an  incurable  malady,  had  committed 
suicide  the  night  before  at  eleven  o'clock.  This  gentleman 
had  asked  her  to  let  him  come  t>  her  house  to  be  taken  care 
of,  and  when  she  refused  he  had  said  to  himself,  apparently  : 
'Then  there  is  nothing  more  for  me  to  do  but  to  end  my  life.' 

"The  person  who  told  me  this  saw  a  direct  relation  between 
the  strange  appearance  of  the  dog  in  the  lady's  room  and  the 
death  that  happened  at  the  same  hour  on  the  same  evening. 

"  ClEUCTAU. 
"  9  Rue  de  la  Pax,  Strasbourg." 

Letter  98. 
89 


THE    UNKNOWN 

XLVI.  ''  My  father,  who  was  born  in  1805,  at  Saint  L& 
d'Ourviile  near  Port  Bail  (Manthe),  was  a  boarder  in  the 
religious  seminary  of  Saint  Sauveur-le-Vicomte,  six  miles 
from  his  birthplace.  He  had  been  the  favorite  son  of  his 
father,  who  left  him  one-fourth  more  of  his  property  than  he 
gave  to  his  other  children — very  fortunately,  for  the  younger 
son  would  soon  have  squandered  his  inheritance. 

"  It  is  not,  therefore,  extraordinary  that  this  father,  dying 
suddenly  (as  we  all  do  in  our  family),  thought  of  this  son,  a 
good  lad,  whom  he  tenderly  loved,  and  who  was  not  present 
to  receive  his  last  sigh. 

"  Now  this  thought  of  the  dying  man  must  have  traversed 
the  six  miles  that  separated  him  from  his  son,  for  that  son, 
during  the  night — at  two  o'clock — saw  his  father,  who  called  to 
him  to  come  to  him  for  he  was  dying.  He  rushed  to  awaken 
the  superior,  and  implored  him  to  grant  him  leave  to  go 
home. 

'*  The  superior  refused,  telling  the  lad  of  fifteen  that  there 
were  forests  to  pass  through,  and  that  it  was  not  safe  to 
travel  in  the  night,  but  that  he  might  go  as  soon  as  it  was 
morning. 

''  Alas  I  it  was  too  late ;  the  poor  fellow  did  not  reach  home 
until  his  father  had  died,  precisely  at  the  hour  of  the  night 
when  he  had  heard  himself  called. 

''Angelixe  Dessoulle.'' 

XLVII.  ''  On  the  night  of  the  19th  or  20th  of  May,  a  little 
before  eleven  o'clock,  I  had  not  yet  gone  to  sleep.  My  wife, 
by  my  side,  was  sound  asleep,  when  I  very  distinctly  heard  a 
noise  as  if  something  heavy  had  fallen  on  the  floor  of  the 
room  above  me.  My  wife  started  up  and  said  :  '  What  was 
that  ?'  '  It  must  be  a  loaf  of  bread  that  has  fallen,'  I  an- 
swered, for  in  the  room  above  us  were  stored  all  the  loaves 
taken  from  the  oven. 

''While  I  was  speaking  there  was  another  noise  like  the  first, 
and  then  a  third,  still  louder.  I  got  up  at  once,  lit  a  light, 
and  mounting  the  wooden  stairs  which  led  up  to  the  garret  I 
found   everything   in   order  ;   the   loaves  were   all   in   their 

90 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

places.  A  terrible  presentiment  took  possession  of  me  touch- 
ing my  brother  Jean,  who  was  ill,  but  I  would  not  let  it  be 
seen,  and  when  my  wife  asked  me  what  had  caused  such 
strange  noises  I  replied,  not  wishing  to  alarm  her,  for  I 
knew  she  was  very  timid  :  '  Some  loaves  that  slipped  down 
on  the  floor/  The  next  day  great  was  my  stupefaction  at 
seeing  my  sister,  who  then  lived  at  Nantes,  come  in  in  a 
state  of  great  excitement  to  tell  me  that  about  eleven  o'clock 
she  had  heard  a  strange  noise  proceeding  from  her  table,  and, 
then  being  quite  awake,  a  terrible  commotion  in  her  big 
closet.  I  then  led  her  into  the  kitchen  and  said  :  '  Jean  is 
dead.'     '  Yes,'  she  answered,  '  it  was  he.' 

"  A  month  later  we  learned  that  our  dear  Jean  had  died  in 
hospital  at  Birkadere  in  Algeria,  on  the  night  of  the  19th 
and  20th  of  May.* 

''  Marius  Mariage. 

♦'  At  Remoulin  (Gard)."         better  104. 

XLVIII.  '^My  mother  had  two  uncles  who  were  priests; 
one  was  a  missionary  in  China,  the  other  a  cure  in  Brittany. 
They  had  one  sister,  an  old  woman  who  lived  in  the  Vosges. 

"  One  day  this  person  was  busy  in  her  kitchen  preparing  the 
family  repast,  when  the  door  opened  and  she  saw  on  the 
threshold  her  brother  the  missionary,  from  whom  she  had 
been  separated  for  many  years.  'It's  brother  Fran9ois  !' 
she  cried,  and  she  ran  to  him  to  embrace  him,  but  at  the 
moment  when  she  should  have  reached  him  he  disappeared, 
which  frightened  her  terribly. 

''  On  the  same  day,  at  the  same  hour,  the  other  brother,  who 
was  a  cure  in  Brittany,  was  reading  his  breviary  when  he 
heard  the  voice  of  brother  Fran9ois  saying  to  him :  '  Brother, 
I  am  about  to  die.'  A  moment  after  he  spoke  again  : 
*  Brother,  I  am  dying,'  and  then,  'I  am  dead.' 

^'  Some  months  later  they  received  news  of  the  death  of  the 
missionary,  which  happened  on  the  very  day  when  they 
received  these  strange  warnings." 

*  Two  witnesses  remote  from  each  other  impressed  separately. 
5  A  similar  remarkable  case. 

91 


THE    UNKNOWN 

'*  I  send  you  this  narrative  because  it  seems  to  me  to  possess 
all  possible  guarantees  for  its  authenticity.  It  was  related 
to  me  by  my  motlier  and  by  one  of  my  aunts  separately  ; 
they  had  it  from  the  very  people  to  whom  it  happened,  their 
uncle,  a  respectable  priest,  and  their  aunt,  an  excellent 
woman,  neither  of  whom  could  have  invented  such  a  story 
for  the  pleasure  of  hoaxing  the  public.  As  to  believing  it 
an  hallucination  it  seems  incredible  that  both  brother  and 
sister  should  have  had  one  to  the  same  purpose,  one  in  the 
East,  the  other  in  the  West  of  France,  at  the  same  moment. 
1  wish  here  to  assure  you  of  my  own  perfect  honesty.  What 
object  could  I  have  in  deceiving  you? 

''Makie  Lardet. 

"  Champ-le-Duc  (Vosges)." 

Letter  108. 

XLIX.  *^You  say  in  an  article  on  telepathic  manifesta- 
tions that  Hhe  value  of  facts  is  increased  by  their  num- 
ber,' and  this  emboldens  me  to  send  you  one  that  is  very 
strange.  It  did  not  happen  recently,  nor  did  I  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  it,  though  I  can  guarantee  its  authenticity, 
because  of  the  truthfulness,  the  common  sense,  and  the  clear 
intelligence  of  the  person  to  whom  it  happened.  About 
1822  or  1823  the  eldest  son  of  my  grandparents  was  pursuing 
his  studies  at  Strasbourg.  The  last  news  they  had  from  him 
was  good,  and  nothing  made  them  uneasy  on  his  account. 
It  is  true  that  at  this  period,  when  twenty-five  miles  seemed 
a  long  journey,  communication  with  Strasbourg  was  not  very 
frequent,  nor,  for  that  matter,  was  news. 

^^One  day,  when  my  grandmother  was  looking  at  a  portrait 
in  oil  of  her  absent  son,  she  fancied  she  saw  the  canvas  move 
towards  her,  and  at  the  same  moment  she  heard  her  son's 
voice  say  distinctly  :  '  Mamma  !  Mamma  ! ' 

''  The  vision  was  so  distinct  that  she  stretched  out  her  arms 
with  an  agonized  cry  of  ^Edouard  !' 

^^In  vain  my  grandfather  assured  her  that  Edouard  was 
quite  well,  and  that  if  he  had  been  sick  they  would  have 
had  notice.  He  said  she  had  had  an  hallucination,  that  she 
had  been  dreaming,  though  awake,  etc.    But  my  grandmother 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

still  remained  under  the  impression  of  an  impending  mis- 
fortune. 

*^Tlie  next  day  a  messenger  arrived  from  Strasbourg  to 
announce  the  death  of  the  young  man. 

^'What  illness  could  have  carried  him  off  in  those  few 
hours?  I  do  not  remember.  I  only  know  that  he  died  at  the 
very  hour  when  his  mother  was  looking  at  his  portrait.,  and 
that  as  he  died  he  had  twice  called  ^  Mamma  !  Mamma  V 

''  I  own  myself  to  be  an  incredulous  person,  but  to  this  I 

bow.     I  send  my  name,  but  only  for  yourself,  that  you  ma;y 

be  certified  that  this  is  not  a  fable.  S.  S. 

"  Vosges  Annexees." 

Letter  121, 

L.  "  An  absolutely  authentic  thing  of  the  kind  for  which 
you  ask  occurred  in  my  own  family.  I  do  not  know  in  what 
year,  but  here  are  the  facts  as  my  mother  and  grandmother 
told  them  to  me  : 

*'  When  the  latter  was  a  young  girl  she  lived  at  the  seaport 
town  of  Envaux,  a  little  place  near  Saintes,  and  she  had  a 
brother,  Leopold  Drouillard,  who  was  a  sailor. 

*' Another  brother,  who  also  lived  at  Envaux,  went  into  a 
loft  at  the  bottom  of  a  court  to  get  some  hay  for  his  cattle. 
He  ran  back  to  the  house  a  moment  after,  pale  and  trem- 
bling, crying,  '  Mamma  I  I  have  just  seen  my  brother  Leopold 
in  the  loft.'  They  laughed  at  him,  and  thought  no  more  of 
it,  when,  in  December  of  the  same  year,  they  received  news 
that  in  June  Leopold  Drouillard  had  died  in  Havana.  It 
was  in  June  that  his  brother  had  had  the  vision. 

*'  Such  is  the  story  as  my  mother  told  it,  and  my  grand- 
mother. A  brother  of  the  latter  is  living  still,  and  one  of 
his  sisters.     They  could  confirm  what  I  have  told  you. 

'^Ferand  Ortice. 
"  Tonnay-Charente  (Charente  Inferieure)." 
Letter  128. 

LL  A  '^n  1880  my  brother-in-law,  J.  B.  Tuillot,  was  in 
Algiers,  where  he  had  been  summoned  on  business.  One 
night   he    was  suddenly  awakened   without   any  apparent 

93 


THE    UNKNOWN 

canse,  and,  having  opened  his  eyes,  he  saw  distinctly,  by  the 
light  of  the  night  lamp  which  lit  his  room,  one  of  his  friends 
named  Morillon,  who  lived  in  the  town  of  Oreil,  in  the  Oise, 
standing  at  the  foot  of  his  bed  and  looking  sadly  at  him.  .  .  . 
The  apparation  lasted  only  a  few  moments.  At  once  it  was 
borne  in  upon  him  that  this  intimate  friend — in  perfectly 
good  health  at  the  time  of  their  recent  separation — was 
dead.  He  wrote  to  his  home,  and  soon  learned  that  his 
friend  Morillon  had  died  on  the  same  night  and  at  the  same 
hour  when  he  had  seen  the  vision. 

B.  ^^Ihad  occasion,  in  1896,  to  meet  at  a  friend's  house  a 
M.  Contamine,  a  druggist  at  Commentry  (Allier),  who  re- 
tailed in  my  presence  the  following  facts,  of  which  he  guar- 
anteed the  authenticity,  and  which  he  could  not  relate  to  us 
without  visible  emotion.  Seated  one  day  in  his  chamber  before 
a  looking-glass,  putting  on  his  boots,  he  distinctly  saw  in 
the  glass  a  door  open  behind  him,  and  one  of  his  intimate 
friends  enter  his  chamber.  He  was  in  evening  costume, 
dressed  very  carefully.  M.  Contamine  turned  round  to 
shake  hands  with  him,  when,  to  his  stupefaction,  he  saw 
no  one  in  his  room.  He  ran  out  at  once,  and  called  to 
the  servant,  who  happened  to  be  on  the  staircase.  *  Did  you 
meet  M.  X.  .  .  .  who  has  just  gone  out  of  my  room.  Where 
is  he?'  *I  have  seen  no  one,  I  assure  you,  sir.'  ^Non- 
sense !  he  left  my  room  this  very  minute.'  '  I  am  perfectly 
certain  that  nobody  either  went  up  or  down  the  stairs.'  M. 
Contamine,  much  impressed  and  greatly  puzzled,  began  to 
apprehend  some  impending  misfortune.  He  at  once  made 
inquiries  and  learned  that  his  friend,  having  accidentally 
killed  a  man,  and,  wishing  to  escape  judicial  inquiries  into 
the  accident,  had  conimitted  suicide  at  the  exact  hour  when 
he  appeared  to  M.  Contamine  and  in  the  sarne  clothes  his 
friend  had  seen  in  his  reflection  in  the  glass. 

''BOULK'OIS, 
"  Schoolmaster  at  St.  Mayence." 
Letter  134. 

LIII.  ''  On  October  23,  1870,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
I  lay  fast  asleep,  and  I  was  not  dreaming,  when,  suddenly,  I 

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OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

felt  on  my  left  cheek  a  soft  kiss  given  very   tenderly.     I 
cried  at  once,  '  Mamma  V 

"  That  same  evening  we  got  a  despatch  telling  us  that  my 
beloved  mother  was  dead. 

"  It  made  so  deep  an  impression  upon  me  that  I  can  never 
forget  it. 

*^  If  the  perfect  veracity  of  this  fact  can  be  of  any  use  to 
you,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  have  contributed,  though  only 
in  so  slight  a  way,  to  your  researches,  of  which  I  appreciate 
the  great  value. 

^'P.  S. — My  mother  died  at  Gien,  and  I  was  at  Rochefort. 
'*  Mademoiselle  Marie  Durand. 

"  Rochefort,  sur-mer.  (Charente  Inferieure.)" 
Letter  140. 

LIV.  A.  "  Fifty  years  ago,  my  aunt,  who  was  a  Sister  of 
Charity,  and  then  twenty  years  of  age,  was  in  the  common 
dormitory  (where  I  saw  her  again  this  year),  and  was  startled 
by  a  great  noise  like  hogsheads  being  rolled  into  the  court- 
yard. She  opened  the  window  quickly,  but  saw  nothing. 
Having  closed  the  window,  she  prepared  for  bed,  but  the 
noise  continued  so  loud  that  she  again  opened  it,  to  the 
great  astonishment  of  her  room-mates,  who  heard  nothing. 
A  week  after  this  she  heard  of  her  mother's  death.  It  was 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  she  expired,  calling  on  her 
two  daughters  to  come  to  her.  It  is  curious  that  the 
other  daughter,  who  was  also  in  the  convent,  heard  nothing. 

B.  ^'This  same  aunt  was  awakened  long  after  by  what 
seemed  the  strokes  of  a  small  hammer  on  a  table  near  her 
bed.  Fear  at  first  deprived  her  of  speech,  but  the  eight 
sisters  who  also  slept  in  the  dormitory  were  awakened  by  the 
rapping.  They  got  up,  and  three  times  during  the  night  satis- 
fied themselves  that  the  noise  proceeded  from  my  aunt's 
table.  Three  sisters  who  were  old  companions  of  my  aunt 
assured  me  they  had  witnessed  this  phenomenon. 

'*  There  was  no  coincidence  of  any  death. 

*'C.  Courtis. 

"Marmande." 

Letter  141. 

95 


THE    UNKNOWN 

LVI.  A.  '^My  nncle  Joseph,  my  father's  brother,  was 
walking  in  his  garden  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  when 
he  saw  over  a  hawthorn  hedge  his  brother-in-law  on  horse- 
back coming  up  the  road. 

'^  Joseph  went  at  once  into  the  house  to  tell  his  wife  that  her 
sister's  husband  was  coming,  and  to  be  ready  to  meet  him. 
In  vain  he  looked  for  him,  but  in  the  evening  came  an  ex- 
press bringing  news  of  the  sudden  death  of  this  man,  who 
had  been  struck  with  apoplexy  that  morning  about  twenty- 
three  miles  away,  and  had  fallen  from  his  horse. 

B.  ^'  About  forty  years  ago,  when  I  was  thirty,  and  collector 
ef  contributions  in  Morbihan,  as  I  was  taking  coffee  with 
two  friends,  one  day,  after  dinner,  about  seven  o'clock,  we  all 
three  heard  a  noise  as  if  five-franc  pieces  were  jingling  in  a 
drawer.  I  ran  to  my  office,  which  was  separated  by  a  slight 
partition  from  the  room  where  we  were  sitting,  but  I  could 
find  no  cause  for  the  noise. 

**  That  evening  one  of  my  brothers  died  in  Paris. 

''^Du  QUILLIOU, 
"  Mayor  of  Lanhelin  (Ile-et-Vilaine).*' 
Letter  143. 

LVIII.  ''  My  father,  a  musical  composer,  lived  at  Lyons, 
his  native  city,  with  his  young  wife  and  little  girl.  My  pa- 
ternal grandparents  also  lived  at  Lyons,  about  half  an  hour's 
walk  from  their  son. 

*'It  was  the  28th  of  August,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  My  father  was  making  his  toilet  (he  was  shaving 
himself  before  a  window),  when  he  heard  his  name  twice 
called  loudly,'  'Andre  !  Andre  !'  He  turned,  but  saw  no  one. 
Then  he  went  into  the  next  room,  the  door  of  which  was 
open,  where  he  found  my  mother  sitting  quietly.  He  said 
to  her,  'Did  you  call  me?'  'No,'  replied  my  mother, 
'but  why  do  you  look  so  startled?'  Then  my  father  told 
her  how  he  had  heard  himself  called  loudly,  and  how  this 
call,  repeated  more  than  once,  had  affected  him. 

>  Calls  heard  in  cases  XVI..  XXII.,  XXV.,  XXVIL,  XXXIIL 

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OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

''  He  finished  his  toilet,  and  a  few  minutes  after  some  one 
came  to  tell  him  that  his  father  had  died  so  suddenly  that 
there  had  been  no  time  to  summon  him  to  his  deathbed. 
He  had  asked  for  his  son  as  he  was  dying,  but  those  about 
him  did  not  think  he  was  in  any  danger,  and  therefore  had 
not  sent  for  the  son. 

*^  He  died  at  8  a.m.,  exactly  at  the  moment  when  my  father 
had  heard  himself  called  so  urgently. 

*' Observe  that  my  father  had  had  no  suspicion  that  my 
grandfather  was  in  ill  health.  The  evening  before  he  had 
seen  him,  and  thought  he  was  perfectly  well. 

"  My  mother,  who  witnessed  my  father's  emotion,  but  who 
had  not  heard  the  call,  has  just  told  me  the  story  for  the 
hundredth  time,  and  it  is  she  who  has  dictated  what  I  am 
sending  you,  but  I  beg  you  not  to  give  our  names  to  the 
public. 

"R.(Is6re)."  -M.  B.  KEES. 

LIX.  ''My  friend,  Ferdinand  S.,  when  he  was  about  six- 
teen, was  pursuing  his  musical  studies  in  Paris  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  composer,  Hippolyte  Monpon. 

"One  day,  in  his  students'  chamber,  he,  being  perfectly 
awake,  had  a  clear  vision  of  his  father,  exactly  as  if  he  were 
standing  there.     The  vision  lasted  but  a  moment. 

"  My  friend  had  no  reason  whatever  to  expect  his  father's 
death.  Yet  he,  who  was  by  profession  a  tuner  at  Tours,  had 
met  with  a  terrible  accident.  In  assisting  to  take  a  piano 
up  a  staircase,  it  had  fallen  on  his  body  and  crushed  him,  so 
that  death  ensued. 

"Now,  after  he  received  this  news,  Ferdinand  could  well 
understand  how  the  moment  when  he  had  seen  the  apparition 
coincided  with  that  of  his  father's  death. 

"E.  Lep. 

"9  Place  de  la  Cathedrale,  Tours." 

Letter  156. 

LXI.  "  One  of  my  brothers,  when  a  pupil  in  rhetoric  in  a 
Congregationalist  college,  one  night  could  not  close  his  eyes. 
As  soon  as  the  house  was  awake  he  went  to  find  the  superior 
Q  97 


THE    UNKNOWN 

of  the  college,  and  told  him,  all  iu  tears,  '  I  do  not  know 

what  it  may  be,  but  I  am  sure  some  great  misfortune  has 

happened  at  home.' 

*'The  superior  said  this  was  all  childishness  and  .  .  .  Two 

hours  after  our  horse  was  at  the  gate  of  the  college,  sent  to 

bring  my  brother  home.     Our  father  had  died  suddenly  in 

the  night.     Now,  it  was  impossible  that  my  brother,  a  boarder 

in  the  college,  could  have  heard  of  this.     The  college  was 

more  than  seven  miles  distant  from  his  home.* 

''Gaston  Savoye. 
"Bailleul(Nord)." 

Letter  164. 

LXII.  "  One  of  my  aunts  was  instructress  in  a  commune  of 
Alsace,  and  saw  much  of  the  sister  of  M.  le  Cure.  One  even- 
ing, as  my  aunt  was  making  ready  to  go  to  bed,  she  heard 
the  door-bell  ring  twice.  My  aunt  went  down  and  asked 
who  was  there.  There  was  no  answer.  She  opened  the 
door.  There  was  no  one.  It  could  not  have  been  some  one 
passing  who  had  pulled  the  bell-rope,  for  to  get  at  it  it  was 
necessary  to  come  into  the  passage  and  to  ascend  several  steps 
of  the  stairs. 

"  The  next  morning  she  heard  that  M.  le  Cure's  sister  had 
died  suddenly  in  the  night,  just  about  at  the  moment  when 
she  had  heard  the  bell  ring.  "  K.  E.  Daul. 

"NeuvesMaisons."  Letter  169. 

LXIII.  ''  One  of  my  friends  told  me  two  years  ago  what  a 
fright  he  had  had  on  a  certain  night  when  he  was  reading  in 
bed. 

''Suddenly  the  curtains  were  violently  shaken;  at  the  same 
moment  he  heard  a  plaintive  cry  and  steps  upon  the  floor  be- 
side him.  His  wife,  who  was  awake,  told  me  she  also  heard 
the  noise.  The  next  day  they  heard  of  the  death  of  one  of 
their  friends  who  lived  a  few  miles  from  them. 

"A.    MORISOT. 
"41  Rue  du  Chateau,  Lyons." 

Letter  171. 

*  Similar  to  that  mentioned  in  XLVL 
98 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

LXIV.  ''  Oiir  family  is  connected  with  that  of  General  Ber- 
trand,  who  was  Napoleon^s  companion  during  his  exile  at 
St.  Helena.  My  mother  had  from  childhood  been  very  inti- 
mate with  his  daughter,  Hortense  Bertrand,  who  married  M. 
Amadee  Thayer,  who  died  a  senator  of  the  Second  Empire,  I 
think,  in  1866. 

"  In  1843  Madame  Thayer,  being  in  ill  health,  was  sent  to 
Madeira.  Her  father.  General  Bertrand,  was  at  Chateauroux. 
He  came  to  Paris  in  the  month  of  January,  1844,  for  a  few 
days.  He  left  at  the  end  of  the  month  by  the  mail-coach. 
The  weather  was  very  cold.  On  reaching  Chateauroux  he 
was  attacked  by  a  congestion  of  the  lungs,  and  died  on  the 
29th  of  January. 

'^  On  the  same  day,  January  29th,  Madame  Thayer,  in  com- 
pany with  her  husband  and  several  friends  who  had  accom- 
panied her  to  Madeira,  was  quietly  conversing,  not  thinking 
of  any  harm  likely  to  happen  to  the  dear  ones  she  had  left  in 
France.  Suddenly  she  turned  pale,  gave  a  scream,  burst  into 
tears,  and  cried,  'Oh!  my  father  is  dead!'  Those  present 
tried  to  calm  her.  They  pointed  out  that  her  last  letters 
were  of  recent  date  and  had  nothing  but  good  news  in  them, 
and  that  there  was  no  cause  to  anticipate  misfortune.  She 
persisted  in  what  she  said,  and  noted  down  the  day  and  hour. 

"At  this  time  there  were  no  telegraphs  and  very  few  rail- 
roads. It  took  more  than  a  month  for  letters  from  France 
to  reach  Madeira.  The  first  mail  that  arrived  brought  news 
of  the  death  of  General  Bertrand  on  January  19th,  the  very 
day  and  hour  when  his  daughter  had  received  her  revelation. 

"All  the  witnesses  of  this  scene  and  Madame  Thayer  her- 
self are  dead  now,  but  the  thing  was  known  to  all  our  family 
and  to  all  the  relations  and  connections  of  M.  and  Madame 
Thayer.  I  have  heard  it  often  told  by  one  of  our  cousins, 
Madame  Thayer,  a  very  intimate  friend.  Possibly  you  might 
get  my  evidence  corroborated  by  Pere  Ludovic,  a  Capuchin 
in  Paris,  who  was  for  years  the  confessor  of  Madame  Thayer 
and  who  must  have  known  the  fact.  I  do  not  wish  my  name 
to  be  published.  M.  B.  G. 

"Paris."  Letter  173.  ' 

99 


THE    UNKNOWN 

LXV.  **Two  years  ago  my  brother,  who  was  a  designer, 
undertook  a  journey  of  exploration  in  Africa,  accompanying 
the  mission  of  M.  Bouchamps.  I  had  had  no  news  from  him 
for  a  long  time,  when  one  night,  suddenly  awakening,  I  saw 
my  brother  pierced  by  the  spear  of  a  savage. 

''This  made  so  deep  an  impression  on  me  that  I  did  not 
go  to  sleep  again  that  night,  and  I  was  haunted  for  several 
weeks  by  the  vision. 

*'  Some  weeks  later  I  received  news  of  the  death  of  my 
brother  in  Abyssinia,  killed  by  a  spear-thrust  by  an  Abys- 
sinian. The  fact  coincided  with  my  vision,  but  unhappily  I 
had  omitted  to  set  down  the  exact  date.  However,  I  am 
certain  that  the  vision  came  to  me  in  November. 

''A.  Nyffeley-Potter. 

-Kinchberg."  Letter  175. 

LXVI.  "I  can  certify  to  you  the  truth  of  the  following  fact 
which  occurred  in  a  little  town  in  the  department  of  the 
Var :  My  mother  was  sitting  in  a  room  in  the  lower  story  of 
her  house,  either  knitting  or  sewing,  when  suddenly  she  saw 
before  her  her  eldest  brother,  who  lived  in  a  village  in  the 
arrondissement  of  Toulon,  about  twenty-five  miles  distant. 
Her  brother,  whom  she  recognized  perfectly,  said  '  Adieu,' 
and  disappeared.  My  mother  much  excited,  hastened  to  her 
husband  and  cried,  '  My  brother  has  just  died  !'  She  knew 
he  was  ill. 

*'The  next  day  or  the  day  after,  news  reached  them  of  the 
decease  of  my  uncle,  which  happened  in  the  afternoon,  pre- 
cisely at  the  time  of  the  apparition.  There  were  no  telegraphs 
in  those  days.     The  news  had  been  sent  by  letter  to  Aix. 

*'  Utte. 

"Aix."  Letter  186. 

LXVII.  '*  Here  is  a  fact  of  which  I  can  guarantee  the  exact 
veracity. 

"  On  December  21,  1891, 1  received  a  letter  telling  me  that 
my  father  was  very  sick  and  wanted  to  see  me.  As  the  letter 
did  not  seem  to  me  very  alarming,  I  was  not  much  frightened 
by  it,  but  I  went  to  the  station  at  Redon  to  take  the  train  at 

100 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

4.44  in  the  evening.  I  was  a  little  before  time,  and  was  walk- 
ing up  and  down  the  waiting-room,  thinking  of  pretty  much 
nothing,  when  suddenly  I  felt  ill  and  very  dizzy.  I  could  not 
see,  and  I  had  violent  ringing  in  my  ears.  The  attack  had 
been  so  sudden  that  I  remained  standing  upright  and  motion- 
less in  the  middle  of  the  waiting-room.  The  seizure  only 
lasted  two  or  three  minutes,  for  people  present  were  only 
beginning  to  perceive  it  when  I  came  to  myself.  And  here 
comes  in  the  extraordinary  part  of  the  story.  At  the  very 
moment  when  I  began  to  see  again  and  to  rally  my  senses, 
and  before  I  had  recognized  anybody  in  the  room,  the  figure 
of  my  father  appeared  and  disappeared,  and  at  the  same 
moment  the  thought  came  to  me — was  borne  in  upon  me — 
that  I  could  not  refrain  from  expressing  it  in  these  words : 
*  My  father  is  now  dying.' 

''1  had  that  idea  fixed  in  my  head  all  night  as  I  travelled 
onward.  I  tried  to  make  myself  entertain  another  conviction. 
I  arrived  at  my  home,  which  was  in  the  Department  of  La 
Charente,  about  six  in  the  morning.  There  they  told  me  that 
my  father  had  died  at  six  o'clock  the  evening  before.  About 
an  hour  before  his  death  he  had  several  times  earnestly  asked 
for  me,  and  my  absence  caused  him  to  shed  tears.  This  coin- 
cided with  the  moment  I  had  seen  his  apparition  in  the  Kedon 
station.  I  was  deeply  impressed  by  it,  and  have  never  ceased 
to  remember  it.  P.  Busserolle, 

"  School- master  at  La  Domlnelais,  near  Fougeray  (Ile-et-Vilaiae)." 
Letter  335. 

LXVIII.  '*It  has  twice  in  my  life  happened  to  me  to 
experience  a  distinct  impression  to  have  near  me  a  person 
who  was  absent,  and  to  mark  the  exact  hour  at  which  this 
occurred.  Both  times  the  impression  received  was  found  to 
coincide  within  five  minutes  with  the  death  of  a  person  whom 
I  knew  to  be  ill,  but  who  I  had  no  idea  was  so  near  his  end. 

"These  two  striking  cases  of  telepathy  have  been  reported  in 
the  journal  of  the  Psychical  Society  in  London,  of  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  be  an  associate  member.  Aug.  Glardon", 

'•Man  of  Letters  at  Tour  de  Peitz,  Vaud.,  Switzerland." 
Letter  237. 
101 


THE    UNKNOWN 

LXIX.  ''On  the  29th  of  October,  1869,  our  family  had  all 
met  in  the  salle  a  manger  after  supper  (the  thing  occurred  at 
the  Chateau  de  Vieux,  near  Caen,  my  father's  house).  About 
nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  heard  a  noise  in  the  next 
room.  This  noise  was  exactly  what  a  heavy  picture  would 
make  in  falling,  and  such  was  our  first  impression.  We 
looked  at  all  the  picture-frames  in  our  rooms.  Nothing  had 
stirred.     My  mother  at  once  made  a  note  of  the  hour. 

''  A  few  days  after  we  received  a  newspaper  notice  of  the 
death  of  my  mother's  brother  at  the  military  hospital  at 
Calais,  of  typhoid  fever,  on  October  29, 1869,  at  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  Anatole  de  Jackson. 

"Cheux  (Calvador)." 

Letter  243. 

LXX.  "  A  lady  of  my  acquaintance  who  has  a  well-balanced 
mind,  and  is  serious  and  sensible,  gave  me,  under  oath,  the 
following  fact  : 

"^  She  was  an  orphan,  and  was  engaged  to  a  foreigner  whom 
she  loved  dearly.  He  could  not  obtain  his  family's  consent 
to  their  marriage.  They  waited  long,  and  then,  either  from 
prudent  motives  or  in  a  sort  of  spite,  she  married  an  elderly 
man  who  had  also  solicited  her  hand.  (I  omit  unnecessary 
explanations.) 

"  She  was  true  to  her  husband,  and  never  again  saw  her  first 
lover,  who  went  back  to  his  own  country.  But  she  never 
ceased  to  think  of  him. 

''A  few  years  later,  one  day  on  entering  her  chamber  she 
thought  she  saw  him  lying  on  the  ground,  all  bloody  and 
seeming  dead.  She  uttered  a  cry  of  terror,  and  she  drew 
near  him,  not  deeming  that  she  was  the  victim  of  an  illusion. 
After  a  minute  all  disappeared,  and  her  husband,  who  had 
come  in,  on  hearing  her  cry,  saw  nothing. 

"  She  supposed  that  M.  S.  must  have  been  the  victim  of  an 
accident,  but  she  could  not  find  out,  not  knowing  exactly 
where  he  lived. 

"A  few  days  after  she  met  a  correspondent  of  M.  S.,  who 
told  her  that  his  friend,  weary  of  his  life,  had  committed  suicide. 

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OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

'^  When  she  compared  the  date  of  her  apparition  with  that  of 
his  death,  she  was  convinced  of  the  coincidence. 

"M.  Gauthier. 
*'^y^°^-"  Letter  244. 

LXXI.  *'  A  lady  attended  a  great  ceremonions  dinner,  given 
by  an  illustrious  personage.  In  the  course  of  the  dinner  she 
gave  a  loud  scream,  and  fixed  her  eyes  on  the  wall  before  her, 
stretching  out  her  arms  at  the  same  time.  She  cried  :  '  My 
son  !  My  son  !'  and  fell  down  in  a  fainting  fit.  They  carried 
her  into  another  room,  and  when  she  came  to  herself  she 
told  them,  sobbing  bitterly,  that  suddenly  the  dining-room 
with  its  lights  and  its  guests  had  disappeared,  and  in  their 
place  she  had  seen  an  angry  sea  and  her  son  contending  with 
the  waves.  He  stretched  out  his  arms  to  her.  Later  she 
received  news  of  the  death  of  this  son,  an  officer  in  the  navy. 
His  ship  was  in  the  Indies,  where  it  had  been  wrecked  by  a 
tidal  wave  on  the  day  of  her  vision. 

"  I  can,  if  you  wish,  give  names,  places,  and  dates. 

'^  J.  Hervosches  de  Quillion". 

"Lamberdin,  near  Combourg,  Ile-et-Vilaine." 
Letter  246. 

LXXII.  '^  One  of  my  friends,  the  wife  of  a  captain  in  the 
army,  has  twice  experienced  a  clear  impression  of  seeing  a 
human  being.  Once  it  was  her  cousin,  whom  she  called  by 
his  name,  on  a  promenade,  being  very  much  astonished  to 
meet  him  there.  Another  day  her  man-servant,  whom  she 
had  left  at  Toulouse  while  she  went  on  a  journey,  opened 
the  door  of  her  chamber,  and  she  asked  him,  with  much 
amazement,  what  he  was  doing  there. 

•'  Neither  of  the  apparitions  lasted  long,  and  both  coincided 
with  the  dying  hour  of  the  young  men. 

"J.  Debat-Poi^^sa}^. 

"Toulouse."  T    4..       otro 

Letter  252. 

LXXIII.   "  A  lady,  one  of  my  friends,  who  is  worthy  of  all 

belief,  told  me  that  a  few  years  ago,  when  travelling  in  the 
Valais,  she  heard,  after  she  went  to  rest,  three  loud  knocks 

103 


THE    UNKNOWN 

on  her  bed.  She  was  quite  alone  in  her  chamber,  but  her 
travelling  companion,  who  slept  in  the  next  room,  had  also 
heard  the  knocks,  and  came  in  to  know  if  she  were  ill,  after 
having  first  called  to  her.  Two  days  later  my  friend  received 
news  of  the  death,  almost  a  sndden  death,  of  one  of  her  in- 
timate acquaintances,  who  had  died  at  Fribourg  on  the  day 
and  the  hour  exactly  coinciding  with  the  time  at  which  she 
heard  the  blows.  F.  Mosard. 

"  2  Rue  de  Lausanne,  Fribourg." 

Letter  272. 

LXXIV.  ^'  One  evening  I  had  gone  to  bed  when  I  heard  a 
great  noise  in  my  chimney,  as  if  some  one  were  shaking  the 
fire-board.  I  was  so  frightened  that  I  rang  for  my  servant. 
Nothing  we  could  find  explained  the  noise,  and  it  was  some 
time  before  I  could  calm  myself,  so  great  had  been  the  im- 
pression made  on  me.  The  next  morning  I  received  a  note 
telling  me  of  the  death  of  an  intimate  friend  who  had  died 
the  previous  night.     (I  forgot  to  ask  at  what  hour.) 

^'At  once  the  noise  in  the  night  recurred  to  me,  and  be- 
came associated  in  my  mind  with  my  friend's  death,  for  a 
very  especial  reason.  This  is  why  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  tell 
you  of  it.  What  especially  marked  the  connection  between 
the  mysterious  noises  and  my  friend's  death  was  that  there 
existed  between  her  and  me  a  secret  concerning  the  illness 
that  was  the  cause  of  her  death. 

''M.  Clement-Hamelin". 

"Tours."  Letter  274. 

LXXV.  '*  About  twelve  years  ago  I  lived  at  Audi.  On  a 
certain  night  my  wife,  who  was  sleeping  in  a  chamber  next  to 
mine,  separated  from  it  only  by  a  slight  partition,  woke  me 
by  saying  *  Did  you  call  me?  '  'No,'  I  answered.  '  Well,  I 
assure  you  I  heard  my  name  called  three  times  very  distinct- 
ly. The  voice  said,  "Marie  !  Marie  !"'  *  You  were  probably 
dreaming,'  I  said,  'and  fancied  in  your  dream  that  some  one 
called  you.     I  was  fast  asleep.' 

''A  moment  after  my  wife  called  to  me  again,  saying  'Get 
up  at  once  and  light  your  candle ;  somebody  did  call  me. 

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OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

Come  here  ;  I  am  afraid/  But  now  the  phenomenon  be- 
comes very  extraordinary.  My  wife,  who  was  much  excited, 
passed  the  rest  of  the  night  in  my  chamber  and  insisted  on 
keeping  the  candle  lighted  until  daylight.  '  Remember  what 
I  tell  you/  she  said ;  *  we  are  going  to  hear  to-day  that  M. 
Gautier,  of  Marseilles,  is  dead.  I  recognized  the  sou7id  of 
his  voice  in  the  two  calls  made  to  me.' 

**  The  next  day  I  was  standing  in  my  front  door  when  the 
letter-carrier  came  up  and  gave  me  a  letter  with  a  black 
edge.  I  was  stupefied  when  I  saw  that  the  postmark  was 
Marseilles,  but  my  stupefaction  was  greater  when  I  found 
that  it  was  from  Madame  Gautier,  informing  my  wife  tliat 
her  husband  had  died  that  night,  and  at  the  same  hour  when 
she  had  been  twice  called. 

*'  I  have  related  this  extraordinary  phenomenon  to  many 
persons,  and  I  am  now  glad  to  communicate  it  to  you,  in 
hopes  that  you  may,  through  your  labors  of  research,  throw 
some  light  upon  it.  ^  j^^^^.^^ 

"  5  Rue  Cassini,  Nice."  Letter  275. 

LXXVI.  (A).  "  When  my  father  was  twenty  years  of  age 
he  was  in  Corsica  at  his  father's  house  with  three  of  his 
brothers,  whose  ages  ranged  from  nineteen  to  thirty.  None 
of  them  were  at  all  nervous  persons. 

"  One  night  they  heard  in  an  upper  story,  which  belonged 
to  their  apartments  but  was  not  occupied,  a  noise  as  if  some 
one  was  walking  about  the  room.  '  Do  you  hear  that  ?'  said 
one  of  them.  *  It  seems  as  if  some  one  were  stamping  with 
his  heels.'  They  went  up-stairs ;  they  looked  everywhere. 
There  was  nothing,  and  when  they  got  back  to  their  room 
the  noise  recommenced.  It  lasted  an  hour.  Some  time 
after  they  heard  that  an  aunt  in  America  had  died  on  the 
same  night  and  at  the  hour  when  they  had  been  disturbed 
by  these  unusual  noises. 

(B).  'In  July,  1877,  my  father  died  at  Constantine,  in 
Algeria.  One  of  his  brothers,  to  whom  he  was  particularly 
attached,  was  then  in  Corsica,  and  was  swinging  in  a  ham- 
mock.    He  was  at  the  moment  alone  in  the  house;  there 

105 


THE    UNKNOWN 

was  neither  man  nor  beast  there.  Suddenly  he  heard  some- 
thing jumping  violently  on  the  floor  above  him.  My  uncle 
asked  himself  what  could  it  be.  Then  remembering  what 
had  happened  in  the  days  of  his  youth,  he  cried :  '  I  under- 
stand !    I  understand  !     He  is  dead.'     He  was  my  father. 

"  A  few  hours  later  a  despatch  was  received,  saying  that 
my  father  had  died  at  the  very  time  my  uncle  heard  the 
noises  overhead. 

''E.  KaFFAELLI  DE  GrALLEA:N". 
**^*^®-"  Letter  284. 

LXXVII.  "  My  father  is  a  man  of  much  knowledge,  of  de- 
cision of  character,  and  he  has  never  had  anything  to  do 
with  spiritualism  or  things  of  that  kind.  Now,  in  1870,  he 
and  my  mother,  being  both  asleep,  were  awakened  at  the 
same  moment  by  hearing  the  steps  of  a  man  wearing  heavy 
shoes.  The  steps  came  up  to  the  bed,  and  to  the  rug  beside 
it.  At  this  moment  my  father  lit  a  candle,  but  he  saw  noth- 
ing, and  the  silence  was  complete.  A  few  days  after  a  letter 
from  the  navy  department  brought  news  of  the  death  of 
one  of  my  uncles  who  was  serving  in  the  navy  at  Toulon. 
He  was  much  attached  to  my  mother.  He  died  on  the  very 
day  when  the  noise  of  the  steps  had  been  heard,  but  my  father 
never  could  learn  the  exact  hour  of  his  death.  Neither  my 
father  nor  my  mother  had  at  first  thought  the  noise  of  any 
importance.  The  phenomenon  is  therefore  incomplete,  but 
I  thought  it  better  not  to  omit  anything  in  an  inquiry  of  this 
kind. 

''Dr.  Lamacq  Dormoy, 
"  Hospital  Doctor,  1  Rue  Ravez,  Bordeaux." 
Letter  288. 

LXXVIII.  *'  I  am  not  going  to  tell  you  of  an  apparition, 
but  only  of  two  things  that  happened  on  the  day  of  the 
death  of  an  officer  who  was  killed  in  Tonquin. 

"  These  things  were  :  in  the  afternoon  three  knocks  were 
struck  upon  our  kitchen  door  and  heard  by  my  cook  and 
her  son.  The  latter  said  to  his  mother,  '  There  is  madame 
knocking;'  but  the  cook  answered,  'Madame  has  gone  out, 

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but  let  us  go  through  the  rooms  and  see/    They  found  no 
one. 

*^  The  next  night  I  heard  some  one  walking  in  the  chamber 
next  to  my  own.  When  I  told  my  servant  how  I  had  been 
frightened  in  the  night,  she  told  me  what  she  had  heard  the 
night  before.  Twelve  days  later  I  heard  of  the  death  of  my 
adopted  son,  which  took  place  that  same  day.  This  happened 
on  the  1st  of  August,  1895. 

'^  Written  for  my  aunt,  Madame  Violet. 

*'G.  Clartk 

"12  bis  Faubourg  Stanislaus,  Nancy." 
Letter  287. 

LXXIX.  '*I  had  been  several  months  absent  from  Paris, 
and  when  I  returned  to  it  I  thought  of  all  the  persons  I  was 
most  anxious  to  see  again  and  of  whom  I  had  not  heard  since 
my  departure.  They  all  passed  before  my  mind's  eye,  look- 
ing as  usual,  except  a  gentleman  about  fifty,  who  looked  pale 
and  seemed  greatly  changed.  I  said  to  myself,  '  Probably  I 
shall  not  see  him  again.  He  must  be  dead  or  dying.'  I  had 
no  especial  sympathy  for  this  gentleman,  and  it  was  not  any 
affection  for  him  that  made  me  think  of  him.  The  next  day 
when  I  found  myself  among  some  friends,  I  said,  '  Apropos, 
how  is  M.  X.  ?'  'Why,  don't  you  know,'  they  replied,  'he 
is  to  be  buried  to-morrow  ?  He  died  yesterday  at  three 
o'clock.'  That  was  precisely  the  time  when  I  had  seen  him 
with  all  his  features  so  changed  and  discomposed. 

^*  What  I  report  is  probably  of  no  importance,  but  I  wished, 
if  I  could,  to  respond  to  your  appeal. 

"L.  Hervieux. 

"  Montivilliers  (Seiae-Inferieure). " 

Letter  290. 

LXXX.  '^When  the  celebrated  revolutionary  Barbe's 
was  in  the  Prison  Centrale  at  Nismes,  he  was  always  closely 
watched  by  two  guardians,  but  he  had  all  the  consideration 
that  could  be  shown  to  a  political  prisoner.  One  day  in  the 
court-yard,  being  with  several  other  persons,  he  said  to  them 
suddenly,  'Something  has  happened  to  my  brother.'    The 

107 


THE    UNKNOWN 

next  day  they  learned  that  Barbe's  brother  had  died  at  Paris, 
of  a  fall  from  his  horse,  at  the  very  moment  when  the  im- 
pression that  something  had  befallen  him  was  made  upon  his 
brother.  Marguerit. 

"  14  Allee  du  Busca.  Toulouse.' 

Letter  295. 

LXXXI.  "  My  mother,  who  lived  in  Burgundy,  at  Bligny- 
sur-Ouche  (Cote-d'Or),  in  1871  or  1872  (the  exact  date  es- 
capes me,  but  it  could  be  easily  found),  heard,  one  Tues- 
day between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  the  door  of  her  bed- 
chamber open  and  close  violently.  At  the  same  time  she 
heard  herself  called  twice,  '  Lucie  !  Lucie  !'  The  following 
Thursday  she  heard  that  her  uncle  Clementin,  who  had  al- 
ways had  a  great  affection  for  her,  had  died  that  Tuesday 
mommg,  precisely  between  nine  and  ten  o^ clock.  This  uncle 
lived  at  Uzerche,  in  the  Oorreze.  At  the  moment  of  the  call 
and  of  the  noise — it  may  have  been  an  apparition — my  father 
was  not  in  the  house.  When  he  came  back  about  noon,  on 
that  same  Tuesday,  my  mother  told  him  what  had  taken 
place,  but  she  did  not  think  of  its  having  any  connection 
with  her  nncle. 

*^  There  was  really  nothing  in  it  but  that  a  door  had  been 
opened  and  closed  violently,  and  that  she  was  twice  called  by 
name,  *  Lucie  !  Lucie  !' 

^'  My  father  and  mother  are  both  living  with  me  at  Bourges, 
and  this  circumstance  has  long  been  known  to  me.  I  can 
assure  you  of  its  perfect  authenticity. 

*^  If  it  seems  interesting  enough  to  be  given  to  the  public,  I 
beg  you  only  to  sign  it  with  my  initials,  for  one  cannot  be  in- 
dependent here  ;  07i  est plutot  'bourgeois,' 

"Bourges."  Letter  303. 

LXXXII.  ''In  1856  I  was  nine  years  old  and  my  brother 
was  six.  We  lived  with  our  parents  at  Besangon.  My  father 
and  mother  came  from  Wurtemberg,  one  of  our  grand- 
mothers lived  at  Uim,  and  the  other  at  Stuttgard.  We  had 
never  seen  them.     I,  the  eldest,  hardly  knew  what  a  grand- 

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mother  was  like,  still  less  did  my  little  brother.  All  that  we 
knew  of  them  was  that  every  year  at  Christmas -time  both 
wrote  to  our  parents,  who,  when  they  kissed  us  on  Christmas 
morning,  in  turn  told  each  of  us  that  our  grandmother  prayed 
that  her  grandchildren  might  grow  up  tall  and  good,  and  sent 
us  her  blessing. 

''That  was  not  much  to  children,  and  I  think  that  the 
tiniest  doll  or  the  least  little  jumping-jack  would,  at  this 
time  in  our  lives,  have  made  more  impression  on  us.  How- 
ever, here  is  what  happened.  One  Thursday  in  February, 
1856,  our  mother  told  us  to  run  down  into  the  garden  and  en- 
joy the  nice  sunshine.  So  1  took  my  brother  by  the  hand  and 
we  went  down.  But  when  we  were  in  the  garden,  my  brother, 
instead  of  playing  with  me,  as  I  begged  him  to  do,  sat  down 
by  himself  in  a  corner,  and  then  suddenly,  though  nothing  had 
happened  to  him,  he  began  to  sob.  Running  towards  the 
house  he  cried,  'I  want  to  see  my  grandmother — my  poor 
grandmother  whom  I  have  never  seen.  I  want  to  see  her  !' 
Our  mother,  thinking  he  had  hurt  himself,  ran  out  at  once 
to  her  dear  little  one,  but  to  all  her  kisses  and  questions  he 
only  answered  that  he  wanted  to  go  and  see  his  grandmother. 
They  consoled  him  with  great  difficulty,  and  promised  him 
that  if  he  were  good  he  should  go  and  see  her. 

''  The  next  Sunday  my  father  came  in  holding  a  letter  with 
a  black  seal.  'My  poor,  dear  wife,'  he  said  to  our  mother, 
taking  her  in  his  arms,  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  '  our  little 
Edmond  was  not  wrong  when  he  asked  to  see  his  grandmother, 
for  she  died  the  very  day  and  hour  when  he  was  sobbing  and 
asking  to  see  her.' 

"Emilie  Seitz. 

"P^"^"  Letter  314. 

r.'XXXIII.  "  When  I  was  twenty-two  or  twenty-three  years 
of  age  I  had  a  little  girl,  a  relation,  aged  seven,  whom  I  was 
very  fond  of.  She  loved  to  come  to  the  house,  to  knock  at 
the  door,  and  then  would  laugh  when  we  called  out,  'Come 
in/  The  same  year  she  fell  ill,  and  I  scarcely  left  her  dur- 
ing the  two  days  when  she  was  dying.  At  last  my  mother, 
dreading  lest  I  should  be  exhausted,  came  to  take  me  away. 

109 


THE    UNKNOWN 

It  was  eleven  o^clock  at  night.  The  little  girl's  uncle,  who 
had  arrived  that  day  from  Paris,  asked  us  to  wait  a  moment 
while  he  went  to  get  his  hat,  and  he  would  see  us  home. 
We  were  all  standing  in  the  kitchen  near  the  front  door 
when  we  heard  raps  on  it  just  as  those  the  little  girl  would 
have  made.  My  mother  called  out,  ^  Come  in.'  I  said  as 
she  went  to  open  the  door,  '  We  can't  let  anybody  in  at  this 
hour.'  '  Perhaps  it  is  the  nuns,'  she  answered.  But,  no  ! 
No  one  had  come  up  the  yard,  or  knocked  at  the  door. 

''We  reached  our  own  house  about  ten  minutes  after  this, 
and  were  immediately  followed  by  the  maid  who  waited  on 
the  parents  of  our  little  friend,  to  tell  us  that  little  Marie 

had  just  died. 

''A.  Laurencot, 
"  Postmistress  at  Fouvent-le-Haut  (Haute-Saone)." 
Letter  322. 

LXXXIV.  ''  I  am  about  to  relate  to  you  something  that 
happened  in  my  own  family,  having  relation  to  apparitions 
of  the  dying. 

''  My  father  for  seven  years  had  been  on  bad  terms  with 
his  son,  and  did  not  even  know  where  he  was  living;  he  ap- 
peared  to  this  son  two  hours  before  his  death.  My  brother, 
as  he  left  his  chamber  at  seven  o'clock,  saw  our  father  about 
two  yards  away  from  him,  and  asked  him  affectionately, 
'  Why  have  you  come  here  ?'  My  father  answered,  '  To  look 
Lor  you,'  and  disappeared  immediately. 

^'  My  brother's  wife,  who  was  in  the  chamber  opening  on  the 
corridor  where  this  passed,  heard  the  voices,  for  she  at  once 
inquired  to  whom  her  husband  had  been  speaking.  It  was 
December  3,  1889.  I  was  at  that  time  sitting  beside  the  bed 
of  my  father,  who  was  asleep.  At  nine  o'clock  he  died  with- 
out having  regained  consciousness. 

"Emma  Lutz. 

"  8  Place  Kleber,  Strasbourg." 

Letter  395. 

LXXXV.  '*  Madame  Carvalho,  mistress  of  a  young  girls' 
boarding-school  at  Lisbon,  had  five  or  six  years  ago  among 
her  pupils  a  little  girl  ten  years  old,  whose  mother  was  an 

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actress,  touring  with  her  company  in  Brazil.     One  night  the 

child  woke,  crying  and  calling  oat,  '  Mamma !  Mamma  !     I 

am  so  troubled  about  mamma !'    The  child  did  not  say  if 

she  had  seen  her  mother,  but  the  poor  woman  had  died  that 

same  night  of  yellow-fever  at  Rio  Janeiro. 

"Madame  J.  Leipold. 
"  21  Calla  da  Gloria,  Lisbon."    * 

Letter  331. 

LXXXVI.  '*  Here  is  what  happened  to  my  father,  a  half -pay 
captain  of  the  navy.  He  was  at  sea,  and  had  just  come  on 
deck  for  his  watch  at  midnight.  As  he  walked  upon  the 
bridge  he  suddenly  saw  before  his  eyes  a  young  child  dressed 
in  white,  who  seemed  to  fly  past  him.  '  Did  you  see  noth- 
ing V  he  said  to  a  sailor  who  was  on  watch  with  him.  *  No,' 
said  the  man.  Then  my  father  told  him  what  he  had  seen, 
and  added,  '  Some  misfortune  has  happened  to  my  people  at 
home.'' 

**He  made  a  note  of  the  day  and  the  hour,  and  on  reaching 
home  found  that  on  that  date  one  of  his  little  nieces  had 
died. 

"  My  father  often  told  ns  this,  and  he  repeated  it  to  me 

when  we  read  your  appeal  in  the  paper. 

''M.  Cheillan. 
"Arzew." 

Letter  341. 

LXXXVII.  "  I  venture  to  relate  to  you  an  authentic  fact 
which  happened  to  my  aunt  (my  mother's  sister),  who  lives 
in  Germany,  and  who  told  it  to  me  herself. 

'^  One  morning,  about  eight  o'clock,  she  had  been  busy  fix- 
ing her  daughter's  hair,  when  suddenly  she  saw  on  the  wall 
a  phantom,  the  head  of  which  was  perfectly  distinct,  but  the 
features  seemed  distorted  by  illness,  and  my  aunt  thought  it 
the  face  of  a  dying  person.  She  was  so  much  impressed  by 
this  vision  that  she  began  to  scream.  Her  husband  and  one 
of  her  daughters  came  to  her  at  once,  and  she  pointed,  weep- 
ing, to  the  phantom,  which  had  not  yet  wholly  disappeared. 
My  uncle  and  my  two  cousins  seeing  nothing,  began  to 
laugh  at  her. 


THE    UNKNOWN 

**  Two  days  later  she  heard  of  the  death  of  her  mother, 
which  took  place  at  Athens,  the  4-16  of  January,  1896,  about 
seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  My  aunt,  who  had  not  even 
had  notice  of  her  sister's  illness,  knew  the  exact  date,  for  the 
day  of  the  ajiparition  was  her  daughter's  birthday. 

"Countess  Carolike  Metaxia. 

*'  Chateau  de  Tliarandt,  near  Dresden." 
Letter  343. 

LXXXVIII.  "  My  great-uncle,  now  dead,  was  manager  in 
one  of  the  great  forges  in  the  Ariege.  One  evening  he  was 
going  to  his  work,  as  usual,  when,  on  arriving  at  nightfall  at 
some  distance  from  the  forge,  he  all  of  a  sudden  felt  his  cap 
lifted  from  his  head,  when  his  hair  stood  up — and  that  hap- 
pened at  two  different  times  without  his  being  able  to  guess 
what  could  possibly  be  the  cause. 

"  When  he  reached  the  forge,  which  he  was,  as  I  have  said, 
very  near,  his  workmen,  who  were  all  in  excitement,  told  him 
that  one  of  their  number  had  suddenly  disappeared,  and  that 
they  had  looked  for  him  but  could  not  find  him.  I  may  ob- 
serve that  the  man  was  a  friend  of  my  uncle.  They  discov- 
ered him  shortly  after,  dead,  in  a  cellar  or  a  pit  into  which 
he  must  have  fallen. 

'^Here  is  the  fact.  The  unimaginative  character  of  my 
uncle,  his  courage  and  his  honesty,  which  are  a  sort  of  tra- 
dition in  our  family,  do  not  permit  me  to  doubt  for  one  mo- 
ment the  truth  of  his  recital.  E.  Peyron, 

"  Medical  Student  at  Toulouse." 
Letter  356. 

LXXXIX.  "Madame  A.,  the  mother  of  the  person  who 
told  me  this  experience,  had  for  some  years  had  in  her  ser- 
vice a  servant  to  whom  she  was  much  attached.  This  woman 
married  and  went  to  live  on  a  farm  at  some  distance  from  the 
little  town  where  Madame  A.  resided.  One  night  she  sud- 
denly sprang  up,  wide  awake,  and  said  to  her  husband, 
'Don't  you  hear?  Don't  you  hear?  Madame  is  calling  me.' 
But  everything  was  calm  and  silent,  and  her  husband  tried 
to  reassure  her.     After  a  few  minutes  the  poor  woman,  still 

112 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

more  agitated,  cried  :  '  I  must  go  to  Madame.  She  calls  me. 
I  am  sure  I  ought  to  go.'  Her  husband  continued  to  think 
that  she  was  under  the  influence  of  some  bad  dream.  He 
laughed  at  her,  and  after  a  while  succeeded  in  calming  her. 

'^The  next  morning  when  the  man  went  to  the  village  he 
heard  that  Madame  A.  had  been  suddenly  taken  ill  the  even- 
ing before,  and  that  she  had  died  in  the  night  calling  all  the 
time  for  her  old  maid,  at  the  very  moment  when  this  woman 
seemed  to  hear  the  voice  of  her  mistress.  Suzanne  H. 

"P^^is-"  Letter  362. 

XC.  A.  "  Monsieur  Passer  who  is  now  dead,  but  who  for 
many  years,  was  the  Protestant  pastor  at  Versailles,  told  me 
what  follows  : 

"  One  day,  being  broad  awake  and  having  all  his  wits 
about  him  (he  was  then,  if  I  mistake  not,  a  student  at  Stras- 
bourg), he  saw  his  brother,  an  officer  in  a  regiment  of  Turcos 
in  Africa,  lying  at  the  bottom  of  a  pit  where  grain  was 
stored,  with  his  head  split  open.  Although  he  was  much  im- 
pressed by  this  sight  he  did  not  for  a  moment  think  that  it 
represented  a  reality,  and  later  it  went  out  of  his  mind,  until 
he  received  by  post  from  Algeria  news  that  the  very  day 
when  the  vision  had  appeared  to  him,  his  brother  had  been 
attacked  by  one  of  his  men,  who,  after  having  split  open  his 
skull,  threw  him  into  the  silo. 

B.  ''A  young  girl  very  intimate  in  my  family,  whose  fa- 
ther lived  at  Constantinople  (I  do  not  tell  you  his  name,  not 
having  been  authorized  to  do  so),  was  staying  with  an  aunt 
at  Geneva.  One  evening  when  she  had  been  to  a  ball,  and, 
as  usual,  had  been  very  gay,  she  stopped  of  a  sudden  in  the 
middle  of  a  dance  and  burst  into  tears,  crying,  ^My  father  is 
dead.  I  have  seen  him!'  They  had  great  difficulty  in  com- 
posing her,  and  a  few  days  after  they  learned  that  her  father 
(whom  she  had  not  known  was  ill)  had  died  at  the  very  mo- 
ment when  she  experienced  the  manifestation.' 

"97  Rue  Dragon,  Maiseilles.  A.  E.  MoNOD.' 

Letter  363. 

»  Similar  to  XLIV.  and  LX. 
113 


39 


THE    UNKNOWN 

XCII.  '•  Being  at  one  time  at  Zurich  for  a  few  months,  I 
saw  one  day,  about  three  in  the  afternoon,  a  person  pass  my 
window,  which  looked  upon  the  street,  who  I  was  quite  sure 
was  in  Italy.  I  received  so  strong  an  impression  of  this  that 
I  did  not  get  over  it  all  day,  and  told  it  to  one  of  my  cousins. 
(I  was  wrong  not  to  have  made  a  note  of  the  day  and  the  ex- 
act hour.)  Some  days  after  this  I  learned  that  the  person  I 
had  seen  passing  (a  doctor  who  had  once  attended  me  and 
to  whom  I  was  much  attached)  had  died  suddenly  from  the 
rupture  of  a  blood-vessel  in  Italy.  I  think  I  can  assure  you 
that  more  than  twenty-four  hours  had  not  elapsed  between 
the  time  of  the  apparition  and  the  death  of  the  doctor. 

''Lucie  Niederhauser. 

"Mulhouse."  Letter  366. 

XCIII.  ''About  three  years  ago  my  wife's  father  and 
mother  lived  at  Marseilles,  Place  Sebastopol  No.  5,  on  the 
second  story.  Their  oldest  daughter  lived  at  Beziers,  where 
she  was  extremely  ill.  M.  and  Madame  Jaume  quitted  their 
apartment  at  Marseilles  to  go  and  nurse  their  daughter,  and 
left  their  rooms  to  the  care  of  some  kind  friends  who  occu- 
pied the  first  floor.  After  we  had  been  away  a  month  we 
had  the  misfortune  to  lose  my  sister  -  in  -  law,  their  eldest 
daughter.  Now  the  very  night  of  her  death,  and  at  the  same 
hour  (11  P.M.),  the  family  who  lived  in  the  first  story  of  the 
house  at  Marseilles  were  not  a  little  surprised  to  hear  some 
one  going  up  to  the  second  story,  open  the  doors,  and  walk 
about  the  apartment.  They  did  not  doubt  for  a  moment 
that  it  was  the  Jaume  family  come  back  from  Beziers ;  but  as 
they  had  gone  to  bed  they  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  get  up 
and  go  to  welcome  them.  Early  the  next  morning  they  went 
to  pay  their  visit.  What  was  their  astonishment  to  find  the 
apartment  undisturbed  and  empty  !  No  door  had  been  opened, 
and  there  was  nothing  to  show  that  any  person  had  been  in 
the  rooms.  Ch.  Soulairol, 

"Druggist  of  the  first  class,  at  Cazouls-les-Beziers  (Herault)." 
Letter  367. 

XOIV.  "  I  should  like,  in  response  to  your  request  relative 

114 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

to  psychical  facts,  to  acquaint  yon  witli  the  following,  the 
authenticity  of  which  my  father,  M.  Fleurant,  an  ex-school- 
master, and  my  mother,  a  school-mistress,  are  ready  to  certify. 

"  It  was  in  1887,  in  February.  My  mother  had  then  an 
only  brother,  who  lived  at  Evreux.  She  was  very  fond  of 
him,  and  he  loved  her  tenderly. 

'*  Unhappily  my  uncle  contracted  an  incurable  disease, 
which  we  knew  could  end  only  in  the  tomb,  in  spite  of  sci- 
ence and  the  loving  care  of  his  family. 

"  Towards  the  close  of  the  preceding  year  my  mother,  who 
had  gone  to  visit  her  brother,  had  been  able  to  see  for  herself 
how  ill  he  was,  and  had  been  told  by  the  doctor  that  he  was 
not  likely  to  live  more  than  a  month  longer. 

''On  the  11th  of  that  month,  about  six  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  my  mother  having  gone  into  the  cellar  of  her 
school -house,  came  up  in  a  state  of  indescribable  emotion; 
she  had  heard,  at  intervals  of  a  few  seconds,  three  heart- 
rending cries,  calling  on  her  for  help.  They  seemed  to  come 
through  the  grating  of  the  cellar,  which  was  to  the  north. 
'My  brother,'  she  cried  to  my  father,  'is  dying.  I  hear  him 
call  me  I'  Two  days  after  this  she  received  a  letter  dated 
March  12th,  informing  her  of  the  death  of  my  uncle,  Ernest 
Barthelemy.  Mademoiselle  Blanche  de  Louvigny,  who  wrote 
the  letter,  and  who  had  been  with  the  sick  man  to  the  last, 
wrote  that  he  had  not  ceased  to  call  for  my  mother. 

"  My  mother  has  often  told  me  these  details,  and  she  is  still 
confident  (though  she  cannot  explain  the  phenomenon)  that 
she  was  for  some  moments  in  relation  in  spirit  with  her  brother. 

''  I  send  these  details  to  you,  hoping  that  they  may  be  use- 
ful to  you  in  your  search  after  causes  which  can  produce  such 
effects.  A.  Fleueant, 

"School-mistress  at  Rouilly,  but  now  staying 
with  her  parents  at  Thenay  (Indre)." 

"The  undersigned  subscribe  their  names  to  certify  that 
the  particulars  given  by  their  daughter  are  perfectly  exact. 

"Gr.  Fleurajstt, 
"Retired  School-master. 
Letter  396.  "  S.  Fleurai^T, 

"  School-mistress  at  Thenay." 
115 


THE    UNKNOWN 

XCV.  "  About  two  years  ago  a  young  couple  who  now  re- 
side in  my  family,  went  home  one  night  between  nine  and  ten 
to  see  their  parents,  who  live  on  a  small  farm  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  the  city. 

'^'The  husband  was  driving  a  work-horse  belonging  to  the 
farm,  which  did  not  move  very  fast.  At  one  part  of  the  road, 
though  rather  remote  from  the  farm,  it  is  possible  to  get  a 
view  of  the  house  and  the  out-buildings.  Suddenly  the  man 
driving  saw,  at  intervals  of  a  few  minutes,  flames  rising  above 
the  roofs  like  three  great  will-o'-the-wisps.  He  thought  that 
something  was  on  fire,  and  tried  to  urge  on  his  horse.  His 
young  wife  had  seen  nothing,  but  when  they  got  into  the 
court-yard  she,  as  well  as  her  husband,  heard  distinctly  loud 
blows  upon  the  garden  gate,  like  beating  a  drum. 

^'When  they  got  into  the  house  they  found  the  old  mother 
greatly  excited.  Three  different  times  (corresponding  to  the 
three  times  her  son  had  seen  the  flames)  she  had  heard  chairs 
moved  in  the  hall.  Three  times  she  had  gone  down-stairs, 
but  had  seen  nothing.  She  had  called  up  the  farm-servants 
to  examine  the  stables,  but  they  saw  and  heard  nothing 
abnormal. 

"  The  young  farmer  and  his  wife  were  very  much  impressed, 
and  when  every  one,  somewhat  reassured,  had  gone  back  to 
their  beds,  the  racket  of  the  chairs  recommenced.  The 
laborers  were  called  in  again,  and  as  in  the  country  whole- 
some traditions  of  piety  are  not  quite  lost,  the  mother  and 
her  children  joined  in  prayer  for  the  poor  soul  in  distress, 
who  seemed  to  have  come  to  them  for  aid  and  pity,  though 
they  did  not  know  whose  soul  it  might  be.  On  the  morrow 
they  heard  that  a  young  cousin,  to  whom  the  whole  family 
was  attached,  had  been  buried  that  day.  Through  an  inex- 
plicable blunder  no  person  on  the  farm  had  been  bidden  to 
the  funeral. 

"  Five  persons  on  this  occasion  had  seen  strange  sights  or 
felt  inexplicable  sensations:  the  father,  who  was  of  an  incredu- 
lous turn  of  mind,  the  pious  mother,  her  son,  her  daughter- 
in-law,  and  a  young  girl.  The  servants,  being  quartered  in 
another  part  of  the  house,  could  not  be  supposed  to  have  had 

116 


OF  TELEPATHIC  COMMUNICATIONS 

anything  to  do  with  the  mysterions  noises.  They  were  sound 
asleep  when  the  loud  knocking  at  the  garden  gate  aroused 
them,  and  their  visit  to  the  stables  proved  that  all  was  quiet 
there.  M.  Pasquel. 

"  3  Rue  de  la  Fontaine  Gosne  (Nievre)." 
Letter  399. 

XC VI.  '^  My  mother  was  by  the  bedside  of  her  own  mother, 

who  was  not  well,  and  was  at  the  same  time  very  uneasy  to 

think  that  she  could  not  pay  a  last  visit  to  a  neighbor  and 

friend  who  was  dying  (but  no  one  had  told  her  that  her  end 

was  very  near).     Suddenly,  the    doors  and  windows  being 

closed,  they  saw,  not  the  curtains,  but  the  two  valances,  hung 

round  the  edge  of  the  canopy  of  the  bed,  shake  backward  and 

forward.     They  parted  and  came  together  again  as  if  moved 

by  a  strong  pull,  and  my  grandmother  at  once  said :  '  See, 

my  daughter — Josephine  is  bidding  me  adieu  !'      My  mother 

hastened  to  her  friend's  house.     She  had  just  expired. 

"Marie  Ollivier. 

"Garcoult(Var.)." 

Letter  402. 

XCVII.  "My  mother  was  busy  one  day  about  household 

affairs,  when  she  heard  very  distinctly  the  voice  of  her  brother, 

who  lived  about  four  hundred  miles  off,  twice  calling  her  by 

her  Christian  name  to  come  to  him.     She  went  to  my  father 

and  said,  'It  is  curious,  but  I  have  just  heard  my  brother 

calling  me.      I  feel  much  troubled.      I  do  not  know  what 

may  happen.'      Two  days  later  she  received  a  letter  which 

told  her  that  her  brother  was  dead.     He  died  on  the  day 

when  she  had  heard  his  voice.  Peltier. 

"Marseilles." 

Letter  405. 

XCVIII.  "  I  send  you  a  fact.  You  may  depend  upon  its 
veracity.  Being  a  soldier,  on  leave  at  home  at  Annot  (Basses 
Alpes),  December  30,  1890,  in  the  morning  my  mother  when 
she  got  up  said  to  me,  '  I  think  a  death  has  happened  in  our 
family.  Last  night  at  two  o'clock  I  was  awakened.by  sharp 
blows  on  the  wall  at  the  head  of  my  bed.     I  was  wide  awake, 

117 


THE    UNKNOWN 

and  I  had  at  once  the  idea  that  a  death  had  occurred  among 
our  friends.'  I  did  not  put  much  faith  in  her  apprehensions. 
But  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  received  a  telegram 
from  Digne,  announcing  the  severe  illness  of  my  aunt.  Sister 
St.  Angele,  Superior  of  the  Orphan  Asylum  of  St.  Martin  of 
Digne.  My  mother  said,  *  This  telegram  will  be  followed  by 
another  to  tell  us  of  her  death.'  And  in  truth  another  tele- 
gram arrived  in  the  evening,  announcing  her  decease.  A  letter 
also  arrived  on  December  31,  showing  that  my  aunt,  after 
an  illness  of  several  days,  had  died  on  the  30th  of  December, 
at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  very  hour  when  my  mother 
had  heard  those  blows  struck  near  her  as  she  lay  upon  her 
pillow.     My  mother  had  not  known  that  my  aunt  was  ill. 

''Barlatier. 
"  Annot  (Basses- Alpes)."        better  409. 

XCIX.  ^'The  fact  I  have  to  relate  took  place  at  Contes,  in 
the  Alpes  Maritimes,  in  1881.  It  was  upon  a  Sunday  when  I 
was  in  church  with  all  my  class  (it  was  the  duty  of  a  school- 
master in  those  days  to  take  his  pupils  to  High  Mass  on  that 
day).  At  a  moment  w^hen  we  were  all  standing  up,  and  con- 
sequently were  all  awake,  I  had  a  distinct  impression  that  a 
voice  was  calling  me,  saying:  ^Your  sister  is  dead.'  And 
indeed,  on  getting  home,  I  found  that  my  sister,  who  had 
been  sick  some  time  but  had  not  kept  her  bed,  in  a  dying 
condition.  She  breathed  her  last  three  or  four  hours  after. 
This  fact  is,  and  always  will  be,  as  fresh  in  my  memory  as  it 
was  the  day  it  took  place.  PEis'CEi^rAT. 

"^'^^•"  Letter  414. 

C.  ''My  mother,  Madame  Molitor,  at  Arlon,  has  asked  me 
to  send  you  her  answer  to  your  request. 

"  In  November,  1891,  one  morning  about  five  o'clock,  she 
w^oke  up,  being  in  bed.  She  saw  her  brother  coming  in 
through  the  open  door  of  her  chamber.  He  was  a  lieutenant 
on  service  at  the  military  slaughter-house  at  Mons  (Hai- 
naut).  He  was  in  his  fatigue  uniform,  just  as  she  had  last 
seen  him  when  he  came  home  on  furlough  for  a  holiday, 
which  he  passed  at  her  house.     He  looked  at  her,  smiled, 

118 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

then  turned  and  went  away,  making  her  a  sign  of  farewell 
with  his  hand.  At  eleven  o'clock  the  same  morning  came  a 
telegram  saying  he  was  dead.  C.  Molitor, 

"  Clerk  in  the  public  registry  oflace  at  Arlon  (Belgium)." 
Letter  430. 

CI.  (A)  ''About  forty  years  ago  one  of  my  near  relations, 
who  was  then  a  young  girl,  was  walking  in  the  country  with 
her  mother  when  she  felt  something  like  a  breath  pass  over 
her.     She  cried  out :  'X.  is  just  dead."* 

''It  was  true. 

"X.  was  her  young  lover.  He  died  of  consumption.  She 
knew  he  was  very  ill." 

(B)  "  Here  is  another  fact  that  I  had  repeated  to  me  yester- 
day evening,  that  I  might  send  it  to  you  with  all  its  details.  It 
happened  to  our  maid,  a  very  intelligent,  good  girl,  who  has 
been  living  with  us  for  some  years. 

"In  1884  she  had  a  place  with  an  old,  unmarried  lady, 
who,  when  the  cholera  came,  went  into  the  country,  not  far 
from  Toulon,  taking  her  maid  with  her.  One  night  she 
was  aroused  by  slight  taps  against  the  window-panes.  She 
listened,  then  hearing  nothing  more,  imagined  she  had 
dreamed,  and  tried  to  go  to  sleep  again. 

"  There  was  more  knocking  at  the  window.  Very  much 
startled,  she  sat  up. 

"  The  raps  were  repeated  a  third  time;  then  she  saw  some- 
thing like  a  phantom,  all  in  white,  twice  pass  the  window. 
Her  chamber  was  on  the  first  story,  and  opened  on  a  roof. 
But  the  house  was  isolated,  and  if  any  one  had  been  walking 
on  the  roof  she  would  certainly  have  heard  it,  for  she  had 
very  quick  ears.  The  next  morning  she  told  about  it  to  her 
mistress,  who  made  fun  of  her,  and  assured  her  she  had  been 
dreaming.  Two  months  later  she  heard  of  the  death,  two 
months  before,  of  a  cousin  whom  she  loved  like  a  sister.  Her 
family,  knowing  the  affection  that  she  had  for  her,  had  not 
told  her  of  this  cousin's  sudden  death.  She  died  after  a  few 
hours'  illness  of  cholera.  L.  Feirikger, 

"  Captain  in  the  Navy,  on  half  pay  at  Toulon." 
Letter  433. 
119 


THE    UNKNOWN 

cm.  ''A  few  years  ago  M.  and  Madame  H.  W.  were  visit- 
ing a  rich  old  man  named  St.  Aubin,  who,  it  seems,  was  a 
man  of  good  education  and  something  of  an  original.  In  the 
course  of  conversation  the  old  man,  believing  his  death  to  be 
near  at  hand,  promised  M.  W.  that  in  his  dying  moments  he 
would  send  him  warning,  and  M.  W.  made  the  same  promise 
in  return. 

''The  summer  passed,  and  they  had  not  been  again  to  visit 
the  old  man.  One  winter  night,  while  at  supper,  M.  W.  was 
reading  his  newspaper;  of  a  sudden  he  looked  up  and  said  to 
his  wife:  'St.  Aubin  is  dead.'  Madame  W.  could  not  believe 
it,  and  asked  how  he  had  heard  the  news. 

'"No  one  has  mentioned  St.  Aubin  to  me,'  he  said,  'but 
I  had  a  little  tap  on  my  forehead  just  now,  which  made  me 
at  once  think  of  the  death  of  St.  Aubin.'  The  next  morn- 
ing at  church  Madame  W.  heard  the  death  of  St.  Aubin 
announced;  he  had  passed  away  in  the  evening  of  the  day  be- 
fore. M.  W.  (my  uncle),  who  told  me  this  story,  said  it  was 
impossible  to  describe  the  nature  of  the  slight  blow  he  had 
received.  He  never  had  felt  anything  like  it.  My  uncle  is 
not  credulous  or  supertitious,  but  quite  the  contrary. 

"GussiE  VA1^^  DER  Haege. 

♦•  Roulers." 

Letter  433. 

CIV.  (A)  "  Madame  Mercador,  my  mother-in-law,  was  mar- 
ried at  Vernet-les-Bains,  in  the  eastern  Pyrenees.  One  even- 
ing she  sent  her  daughter-in-law.  Mademoiselle  Ursule  Mer- 
cador, who  was  then  ten  years  old,  to  shut  the  front  door. 
The  young  girl  came  back  much  frightened,  saying  that  a 
hearse  was  standing  before  the  house.  They  would  not  be- 
lieve her,  and  laughed  at  her.  But  the  next  morning  came 
a  dispatch  from  Elne  (there  were  no  telegraphs  in  those  days) 
saying  that  my  mother-in-law's  father  had  died  the  evening 
before,  just  at  the  hour  when  Mademoiselle  Mercador  had 
gone  to  shut  the  door  and  had  seen  the  hearse. 

(B)  "  My  wife  was  fifteen  when  the  following  circumstance 
occurred,  but  she  remembers  it  all  perfectly.  Her  parents 
kept  a  bathing  establishment  at  Vernet-les-Bains,  and  all 

130 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

the  servants  had  their  rooms  in  the  main  building,  in  the 
same  passage.  Now  a  cook  named  Guiraud  was  taken  very 
ill,  and  one  night  he  died.  All  the  servants  flocked  at  once 
into  his  chamber  the  moment  that  he  died,  but  nobody  had 
summoned  them.  They  all  said  that  each  of  them  had  been 
awakened  by  a  smart  blow  struck  on  the  foot  of  their  bed. 
"  I  think  I  have  responded  to  your  wishes  by  sending  you 

these  facts,  which  are  authentic. 

*'Dr.  H.  Massika. 
'*  Vernet-les-Bains." 

Letter  437. 

CVI.  *' Madame  S.,  a  highly  educated  and  intelligent 
woman,  a  poetess  and  a  transcendentalist,  who  had  no  pri- 
vate fortune,  but  was  fertile  in  inventions,  went  in  1851  to 
London  to  the  great  exhibition,  whea-e  she  received  a  prize 
of  100,000  francs  for  some  improvement  in  ropes  and  sails. 
Her  evil  star  brought  her  into  connection  with  an  Arab,  who 
was  a  great  personage  in  his  own  countr}^,  and  wonderfully 
handsome;  he  made  such  an  impression  on  her  that  she  gave 
him  her  daughter  in  marriage,  and  settled  on  her,  as  her  dot, 
the  100,000  francs,  reserving  for  herself  only  the  future 
profits  of  her  invention,  which  ended  by  a  sharp  man  of  busi- 
ness, an  Englishman,  making  millions  out  of  it,  while  she 
was  left  without  a  cent.  The  young  girl,  who  was  pretty, 
amiable,  and  gentle,  carefully  brought  up  and  educated,  a 
specimen,  in  short,  of  the  best  culture  of  Paris,  with  its  re- 
finement and  attractiveness,  was  taken  at  once  to  Africa  by 
her  husband,  a  true  barbarian,  whose  civilization  was  only 
put  on  for  the  occasion,  and  a  miserable,  horrible  life  began 
for  her.  It  was  the  life  of  a  nomad.  Her  home  was  a  tent, 
where  she  lived  in  company  with  three  or  four  other  wives, 
as  savage  and  degraded  as  their  lord  and  master. 

'^Four  or  five  years  later  Madame  S.,  one  evening  in  Paris 
as  she  was  sitting  at  her  fireside,  heard  the  voice  of  her 
daughter  calling  to  her,  '  Mamma  !  Mamma  !'  She  thought 
at  first  she  was  mistaken.  Then  the  cry  became  more  loud, 
and  its  tones  were  tones  of  anguish.  She  rose,  went  through 
her  rooms,  and  looked  into  the  street.     She  found  nothing. 

131 


THE    UNKNOWN 

She  did  not  know  what  to  think  or  what  to  do,  when  a  third 
time  the  voice  called:  'Mamma,  come!  Oh,  come,  I  pray! 
Come  to  me,  quick  !' 

''At  this  she  hesitated  no  longer.  The  next  morning  by 
break  of  day  she  was  on  her  way  to  Marseilles.  How  long 
did  her  journey  last  ?  Was  the  railroad  to  the  Mediterranean 
then  in  operation  ?  Had  the  voice  said  '  Come  to  Mar- 
seilles T  All  this  I  do  not  know.  All  that  I  do  know  is 
that  she  found  her  unhappy  daughter  at  the  point  of  death 
when  she  reached  Marseilles.  The  poor  tiling  seemed  as  if 
she  had  only  lived  till  she  could  die  in  her  mother^s  arms. 

"S.  Babinet  Eencogne. 
'♦Toulouse." 

Letter  440. 

CVII.  (A)  "My  maternal  grandfather,  a  man  grave,  calm, 
and  as  straight-laced  as  could  be,  was  walking  one  day  in  the 
most  populous  part  of  London,  absorbed  in  his  own  reflec- 
tions. Suddenly  he  saw  a  man  push  his  way  through  the 
crowd  and  come  towards  him.  It  was  a  friend  of  his  boy- 
hood, a  colonel  then  in  India,  who,  according  to  what  was 
said  in  the  newspapers,  he  believed  at  that  moment  to  be  en- 
gaged in  helping  to  put  down  the  Sepoy  mutiny.  My  grand- 
father, in  the  greatest  surprise,  put  out  his  hand  to  his 
friend  and  was  about  to  ask  him  a  question  when,  as  sudden- 
ly as  he  had  come,  he  disappeared.  When  my  grandfather 
reached  home  he  asked  if  the  colonel  had  called  to  see  him ; 
and  when  his  servant  said  'no,'  though  still  very  uneasy,  he 
went  to  his  club.  There  nobody  had  seen  the  colonel. 
Weeks  passed.  At  that  time  news  travelled  less  rapidly  than 
it  does  now.  One  day  as  he  was  looking  over  a  weekly  paper 
published  in  India,  he  read  to  his  great  sorrow  that  among 
those  who  lost  their  lives  through  the  treason  of  the  Se- 
poys was  his  own  friend,  and  on  comparing  dates  he  could 
not  but  suppose  that  the  colonel  died  on  the  same  day  that 
he  had  seen  his  apparition  in  one  of  the  most  crowded  streets 
of  London,  where  he  and  his  friend  had  been  fond  of  walk- 
ing together  and  studying  the  faces  of  the  London  population. 

(B)  "A  young  pastor  told  me  the  following  story: 

122 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

'''My  father/  he  said,  'died  when  I  was  a  baby;  my 
brother  and  I  were  brought  up  by  the  best,  the  kindest,  and 
the  most  judicious  of  mothers,  in  the  austere  city  of  Bologna. 
Though  she  never  showed  a  preference  for  any  one  of  her 
children,  she  bestowed  especial  care  upon  her  youngest  son, 
who  was  delicate  and  very  loving,  and  who  had  inherited  the 
firm  and  gentle  disposition  of  his  Englisli  mother. 

"  '  When  I  was  twenty  I  went  to  the  University  at  Bologna, 
while  my  brother  was  sent  to  Modena  to  the  military  school. 
I  could  not  tell  you  how  much  he  suffered  by  his  separation 
from  home  and  from  his  mother. 

"  '  One  evening,  before  going  to  bed,  my  mother  complained 
of  not  feeling  very  well,  and  showed  some  anxiety  on  the  sub- 
ject of  her  absent  son.  But  good,  sweet,  and  resigned  as 
she  always  was,  she  went  quietly  to  rest,  after  having  kissed 
me  tenderly,  as  she  always  did.  Our  bed-chambers  were  next 
each  ofher.  I  sat  up  part  of  the  night,  busy  over  some  work 
that  was  difficult,  and  towards  morning  I  lay  down  and  went 
to  sleep. 

"  '  Suddenly  I  was  awakened  by  the  sound  of  a  voice,  and 
was  amazed  to  see  my  brother  standing  in  my  room,  looking 
pale,  and  with  convulsed  features.  "Mamma,"  he  said,  "mam- 
ma !  How  is  she  ?  At  ten  minutes  past  twelve  last  night  I 
saw  her  distinctly  beside  my  bed,  at  Modena.  She  smiled  on 
me,  with  one  hand  she  pointed  up  to  heaven,  and  with  the 
other  she  seemed  to  be  giving  me  her  blessing.  Then  she  dis- 
appeared.    I  tell  you  that  mamma  is  dead  !" 

" '  I  ran  into  our  mother^s  room.  With  us  it  was  a  hallowed 
spot.  She  was  indeed  dead,  with  a  smile  upon  her  lips.  .  .  . 
Afterwards  the  doctor  we  called  in  assured  us  that  she  must 
have  died  about  midnight.' 

••«— "  Letter  44S.  "E.Asi.ZL.I. 

CIX.  "I  was  about  twelve  years  old  at  the  time.  The  year 
before  I  had  made  my  first  communion,  and  I  was  still  under 
strong  religious  impressions.  I  was  a  boarder  in  my  school, 
and  said  my  prayers  regularly  before  I  went  to  sleep.  One 
evening  I  was  praying  with  especial  fervency;  I  am  not  sure 

123 


THE    UNKNOWN 

why.  I  asked  earnestly  in  my  prayer  that  God  would  take 
into  His  care  and  keeping  my  grandmother,  whom  I  loved 
dearly.  I  made  a  number  of  little  prayers,  all  concerning 
her.  Then  I  shut  my  eyes.  Immediately  after  I  distinctly 
saw  the  face  of  my  grandmother,  who  was  leaning  over  me. 
Surprised,  I  opened  my  eyes,  but  all  had  disappeared.  I  at* 
tached  no  importance  to  this  impression,  and  I  soon  went  to 
sleep  again.  Children  of  that  age  do  not  worry.  The  next 
day,  at  nine  o'clock,  when  I  was  in  school,  I  was  sent  for,  and 
the  superintendent  told  me  to  take  the  ten-o'clock  train  and 
to  go  home  to  my  grandmother,  who  had  asked  two  days  hol- 
iday for  me.  You  may  imagine  how  pleased  I  was  to  hear 
these  words.  I  dressed  myself  quickly,  as  happy  as  a  king. 
When  I  arrived  at  the  station  near  my  home  I  found  my 
father  waiting  for  me.  He  was  in  tears,  and  told  me  that  my 
grandmother  was  ill.  But  when  I  got  into  the  house,  they 
gave  me  to  understand  that  she  was  dead.  A  few  days  later 
I  inquired  at  what  hour  my  grandmother  had  died.  They 
told  me  she  had  died  on  Friday,  ten  minutes  before  nine. 

^^  I  wish  to  observe  here  that  my  grandmother  had  been  only 
taken  ill  on  Thursday,  the  day  before  her  death,  and  that  no 
one  had  informed  me  of  her  illness. 

*'  From  that  time,  as  I  had  implored  God  to  give  my  grand- 
mother a  long  life  for  my  sake,  and  He  had  not  granted  my 
prayer,  I  ceased  to  believe  in  Him.  They  say  He  grants  the 
prayers  of  those  who  call  on  Him ;  but  here  is  a  proof  that  He 
does  not,  and  also  of  the  stuff  taught  by  the  Catholic  religion. 
It  is  just  like  all  the  rest  of  it.^ 

*' A.  Fringiai^te. 

"Torigny."  Letter  448. 

CXI.  '*  M.  le  Docteur  Blanc,  at  Aix-les-Bains,  told  me  that 
when  he  was  young  he  had  witnessed  something  very  curious. 
One  of  his  aunts  was  ill,  and  her  son,  a  little  fellow  six  years 
old,  was  sent  for  Doctor  Blanc,  at  Sallanches — I  think  he  was 

'  We  leave  all  our  correspondents  free  to  express  their  opinions  and  to 
use  their  own  languas:e.  But  very  different  opinions  will  be  found  in 
XXXVni.,  XCV.,  etc. 

124 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

the  father  of  the  present  doctor,  and  the  child  was  a  playfel- 
low of  my  coasin's. 

*'  On  his  way  the  child  stopped  suddenly,  and  cried  out : 
'  Mamma !  I  see  mamma !'  This  was  told  to  the  doctor, 
whose  first  thought  was  that  the  child  must  be  ill,  but  a  little 
later  they  learned  that  the  child's  mother  was  dead.  She  had 
died  at  the  very  moment  tuhen  the  child  had  cried  out,  with 
no  cause,  apparently.  Louis  Nicole. 

"61  Tierney  Street  Station,  Streathara,  London,  S.W." 
Letter  453. 

CXII.  '*  At  Malamour  was  a  relation  of  my  mother,  who 
lived  at  Varennes,  about  seven  miles  and  a  half  away.  My 
mother  was  much  attached  to  this  gentleman,  who  had  been 
of  great  use  to  her  on  certain  occasions. 

"  This  relation,  who  is  now  no  more,  knew  that  my  mother 
was  ailing. 

''  He  assured  me  that  on  the  night  she  died  he  had  heard 
a  great  noise  in  his  loft,  as  if  somebody  was  tossing  sacks  of 
corn  violently  about.  He  said  to  himself  :  '  Cousin  Labbe  is 
dead.' 

**  This  impression  was  confirmed  when  he  received  from 
me  the  usual  notice  of  a  relation's  death.  My  mother  died 
on  the  same  night  when  he  had  heard  the  noises. 

''  My  own  opinion  is  that  if  telepathic  communications  are 
not  more  common,  it  is  because  they  are  only  sent  by  very 
dear  friends  to  those  who  dearly  love  them.  And  how  many 
persons  are  there  who  have  real  true  friends  ? 

"'There  is  nothing  more  common  than  the  name, 
Nothing  more  rare  than  the  thing.' 


Letter  455. 


"  Labbe, 
"  Notary  at  Esnes  (Meuse). 


CXIIL  *'  I  have  often  heard  the  following  fact  related  in 
my  family.  It  happened  to  my  uncle,  a  member  of  the  In- 
stitute, Professor  at  the  College  of  Chartes,  who  died  eigh- 
teen years  ago.     Unfortunately  I  can  only  give  you  the  out- 

125 


THE    UNKNOWN 

line  and  principal  facts  of  the  story,  and  I  beg  you,  if  you 
publish  them,  not  to  give  the  name  of  my  uncle. 

'*  He  was  an  earnest  Catholic,  and  had  been  brought  up  by 
one  of  his  aunts,  whose  memory  he  always  cherished  with 
gratitude  and  emotion.  About  the  time  of  his  first  com- 
munion (the  evening  before,  I  think),  being  several  hundreds 
of  miles  away  from  this  aunt,  he  saw  her  standing  near  him, 
and  felt  certain  she  was  dead,  and  had  come  to  give  him  her 
farewell  benediction. 

'^  A  few  days  later  he  learned  that,  in  truth,  she  had  died 
at  the  very  hour,  when  he,  a  child,  had  seen  her  beside  him. 

"  Paul  Kittel, 
"Professor  in  the  University  of  the  Petit  Lycee. 
•'  Corneille,  at  ElbcEuf  (Seine  Inferieure)." 
Letter  457. 

CXIV.  *'  One  summer  day,  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  I  was  out  walking,  and  as  I  went  along  I  was 
reading  a  book  by  Alphonse  Daudet,  when  suddenly  it 
seemed  to  me  that  I  saw  one  of  my  school-fellows,  a  pilot's 
apprentice  in  the  navy,  fall  down  before  me,  weeping,  in  the 
very  attitude  in  which  soldiers  are  always  depicted  when  they 
fall  back  severely  wounded  ;  his  hand  was  on  his  heart,  and 
he  fell  backward.  This  puzzled  me,  and  in  the  evening  I 
mentioned  it  to  my  family. 

^'  Four  or  five  days  later  I  received  a  letter  from  our  late 
teacher,  which  said  :  '  Your  friend  Louis  is  in  the  depths 
of  despair.  A  few  days  since  he  was  out  gunning,  when  by 
some  awkward  blunder  his  gun  went  off  and  wounded  his 
brother  Charles,  who  has  just  taken  his  degree  as  Bachelor.' 

''  When  I  read  this  I  thought  of  my  vision.  It  had  not 
told  the  truth.  Louis  was  not  wounded.  My  vision  must 
have  been  at  three  o'clock,  and  the  accident  about  half-past 
four.  Later  I  heard  that  Louis,  when  he  saw  what  had  hap- 
pened, had  fainted,  saying,  as  he  fell  :  '  If  Charles  dies,  I'll 
kill  myself.' 

*^' This  is  all  I  have  to  tell.  I  insist  only  on  the  certain 
fact  that  a  misfortune  was  foretold  an  hour  before  the  acci- 
dent took  place.     I  send  you  the  names  of  those  concerned, 

126 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

but  I  do  not  wish  you  to  publish  them  in  full,  and  I  should 
be  much  obliged  to  you  only  to  print  their  Christian  names. 

"  L.  P. 
"  Saint-Paul-les-Romains  (Drome)." 

Letter  458. 

CXV.  "  In  1865  the  cholera  was  ravaging  La  Seyne  ;  to 
escape  from  it  my  family  sought  refuge  in  a  neighboring 
hamlet.  In  this  hamlet  lived  a  workman  who,  braving  the 
epidemic,  went  every  morning  to  La  Seyne,  and  returned 
home  in  the  evening. 

"  One  morning,  feeling  very  tired,  he  did  not  go  as  usual, 
and  his  son,  who  was  fifteen,  not  thinking  his  father  serious- 
ly ill,  went  off  to  amuse  himself  by  fishing  from  the  rocks, 
about  four  miles  away,  hoping  his  father  would  by-and-by  come 
and  join  him.  At  half-past  eleven  the  father  died  of  cholera. 
At  the  same  hour  the  son  was  convinced  he  had  seen  him  on 
a  neighboring  rock  making  him  a  sign  to  come  to  him.  But 
when  he  drew  near  the  vision  disappeared. 

"  The  young  man,  greatly  alarmed,  hastened  with  all  speed 
to  their  house,  asking  as  he  reached  it  if  his  father  had  come 
home.  They  showed  him  his  dead  body,  and  at  once  he 
told  the  story  of  how  he  had  just  seen  him. 

"  As  I  was  not  with  the  poor  man  in  his  last  moments  I 
cannot  say  whether  he  called  for  his  son  when  he  was  dying, 
and  I  limit  myself  to  telling  simply  what  I  know  and  remem- 
ber. Balossy, 

*'  Government  Controller  of  Tobacco, 
"  Pont-de-Beauvoisin  (Isere)." 
Letter  459. 

CXVI.  ''It  was  about  1850.  Two  sisters  were  together  in 
bed,  when  one  of  them  cried  out  suddenly,  *  Oh,  my  G  od ! 
— my  father  !' 

"Her  mother  thought  she  had  an  hallucination,  or  was 
dreaming,  and  tried  to  compose  her  daughter,  but  the 
daughter  insisted  :  '  I  am  certain  I  Saw  papa.  He  touched 
me  with  his  hand.' 

*'  I  should  say  that  her  father  had  been  for  some  time  at 

127 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Tours,  putting  up  wooden  buildings  for  the  great  fair  to  ba 
held  there. 

*'Next  day  the  family  received  a  letter  to  say  he  had  been 
killed  by  a  fall  the  evening  before,  exactly  at  the  same  time 
that  his  daughter  saw  the  apparition. 

"  L.  Delanoue, 
"A  man  of  means,  living  at  18  Rue  de  CMteau,  Loches." 
Letter  432. 

CXVII.  "  In  1857  and  1858  I  was  living  at  Paimboeuf  with 
my  wife  and  child,  in  a  house  which  had  been  occupied  be- 
fore we  took  it  by  Madame  Leblanc,  who  had  gone  to  live 
at  Nantes.  One  night  in  the  spring  of  1858  (I  am  sorry  I 
cannot  give  the  date  more  precisely,  but  any  one  might  con- 
sult the  civil  register)  my  wife  and  I  were  awakened  sud- 
denly by  a  loud  noise.  It  seemed  to  both  of  us  that  a  great 
bar  of  iron  had  been  violently  thrown  down  on  the  floor  of 
our  chamber,  and  that  our  bed  was  violently  shaken.  We 
sprang  up  in  haste  and  lit  the  candle,  running  at  once  to 
our  child's  cradle,  and  examining  the  whole  room.  Noth- 
ing had  been  disturbed. 

"  The  next  day  (or  the  day  after)  news  reached  us  that 
Madame  Leblanc  had  died  the  very  night  when,  without  any 
apparent  cause,  we  were  so  roughly  awakened,  and  about 
the  same  hour.  We  had  never  had  any  intimate  relations 
with  that  lady,  and  did  not  know  she  was  ill. 

'^My  mother-in-law  and  sister-in-law,  who  occupied  two 
rooms  beyond  ours,  had  got  up  and  Joined  us.  I  think  I 
was  told  that  they  were  awakened  by  my  wife's  cries,  and  by 
the  noise  we  made,  and  not  by  anything  else. 

"When  we  learned  that  the  date  of  Madame  Leblanc's 
death  corresponded  with  the  event  that  had  caused  us  so 
much  surprise,  my  sister-in-law,  who  was  very  pious,  said, 
*  The  souls  of  people  dying,  often,  at  the  moment  when  they 
are  separated  from  the  body,  come  back  to  revisit  the  house 
where  they  have  lived.' 

''L.  Orieux, 
"Employe  of  the  Government,  Nantes." 
Letter  463. 
128 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

CXVIII.  ''A  few  years  ago,  at  Monzon  (Ardennes),  a  wom- 
an who  was  very  ill  sent  her  little  daughter  to  pass  a 
few  days  with  some  relations  at  Sedan.  One  night  the  child 
woke  up  crying,  calling  her  mother,  and  asking  to  see  her, 
begging  that  she  might  be  taken  home  at  once. 

"  The  next  day  news  came  that  the  mother  was  dead.  She 
had  died  in  the  night,  at  the  very  hour  when  the  child  had 
called  her  and  insisted  on  being  taken  back  to  her. 

"I  do  not  remember  the  names  of  these  people,  nor  the 
precise  date  of  the  event,  not  having  paid  great  attention  to 
the  story  at  the  time,  but  I  can  assure  you  that  the  fact  is 
quite  authentic. 

"G.    GiLLET. 
"78  Rue  Bourniget,  Vouziers  (Ardennes)." 
Letter  473. 

CXIX.  '^  My  brother,  who  was  military  superintendent  at 
Cayenne,  had  leave  of  absence,  and  spent  his  holiday  at  Bol- 
lene,  in  the  Department  of  Orange.  He  told  me  the  follow- 
ing circumstance.  He  was  very  intimate  with  another  su- 
perintendent, M.  Renucci.  This  gentleman  had  a  little 
daughter  who  was  very  fond  of  my  brother  and  his  wife. 
The  little  girl  fell  ill.  One  night  my  brother  woke  up.  At 
the  far  end  of  the  chamber  he  saw  little  Lydia  looking  at 
him  fixedly.  Then  she  passed  away.  My  brother,  much 
troubled,  woke  his  wife  and  said  to  her :  '  Didi '  (Lydia's 
pet  name)  Ms  dead.  I  have  just  seen  her  perfectly.'  They 
slept  no  more  that  night. 

"The  next  morning  my  brother  went  in  all  haste  to  see 
M.  Renucci.  The  little  girl  had  indeed  died  during  the 
night,  the  hour  of  her  death  coinciding  with  that  of  her  ap- 
pearance to  my  brother. 

"Regina  Jullian, 
"  Schoolmistress  at  Mornes  (Vaucluse)." 
Letter  473. 

CXX.  ''Something  that  once  happened  to  me  seems  to 
have  some  bearing  on  the  facts  of  which  you  are  publishing 
so  interesting  a  study. 

"  My  father  was  ill,  and  was  being  nursed  away  from  home. 
I  139 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Though  we  knew  he  was  ill,  we  had  firm  hopes  of  his  recov- 
ery. We  went  to  see  him,  and  had  found  him  better,  when 
one  night  I  was  suddenly  roused,  and  my  father's  picture, 
which  hung  just  opposite  my  bed,  seemed  to  me  to  make  a 
sudden  move.  I  say  seemed  to  me,  for  I  cannot  imagine  that 
it  really  stirred.  At  any  rate,  the  first  thing  I  did  when  I 
started  up  was  to  look  at  this  picture  which  I  had  fancied  I 
saw  move.  At  the  same  time  I  felt  so  frightened  that  I 
could  not  go  to  sleep  again.  I  looked  to  see  what  o'clock  it 
was.     It  was  exactly  one  in  the  morning. 

*'  The  next  day,  before  noon,  we  received  a  letter  begging 
us  to  hasten  to  our  father,  who  had  suddenly  grown  worse. 
We  reached  him  too  late.  He  had  died  at  07ie  o'clock  that 
morning,  precisely  the  hour  when  I  was  awakened. 

"This  fact,  which  I  think  of  very  often,  is  absolutely 
wholly  incomprehensible  to  me. 

"Juliette  Thevenet. 

*'  Monte  Carlo." 

Letter  475. 

CXXI.  "  I  had  been  eight  years  absent  from  my  father's 
house  when,  in  the  evenings,  of  January  7,  18  and  19,  1890, 1 
heard  myself  three  times  called  by  my  Christian  name  :  '  Lu- 
cine!  Lucine!  Lucine!'  I  was  not  often  called  by  that  name, 
for,  being  a  governess  at  Breslau,  people  always  addressed  or 
spoke  of  me  as  Mademoiselle.  The  call  was  followed  by  the 
creaking  of  a  great  gate  which  opened  on  two  rusty  hinges. 
I  recognized  this  creaking,  though  I  had  not  heard  it  for 
eight  years.  It  was  the  sound  made  by  a  very  old  gate  at 
my  father's  house  at  Epauvilliers  in  Switzerland.  I  also  recog- 
nized in  the  call  the  voice  of  my  sister.  I  was  agitated  all 
night  by  a  sad  presentiment,  and  the  next  day  I  received 
news  of  my  sister's  death.  She  had  passed  away  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  18th  or  19th  of  January. 

"L.  Roy. 

"  At  Mistik,  in  Moravia  (Austria)." 

Letter  478. 

CXXII.  '^  Here  is  a  case  which  was  quite  personal  to  me, 
and  I  should  like  to  add  it  to  the  material  for  your  learned 

130 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

study,  but  I  ask  you  to  use  your  best  discretion  in  the  use 
you  make  of  it ;  for  it  is  a  confession,  which,  among  its  de- 
tails might  give  many  clews  by  which  things  it  contains  could 
be  guessed  or  even  recognized,  especially  by  the  family  of 
one  now  dead,  of  whom  I  am  about  to  speak  to  you.' 

**The  day  of  our  first  interview  I  was  twenty,  he  was 
thirty-two.  Our  relations  lasted  for  seven  years;  we  loved 
each  other  tenderly. 

''  One  day  my  friend  announced  to  me,  not  without  keen 
regret,  that  his  position,  his  poverty,  etc.,  forced  him  to  think 
of  marriage,  and  in  his  embarrassed  explanations  I  could  not 
but  discern  a  vague  wish  that  our  relations  might  not  be 
wholly  interrupted. 

*^I  cut  short  this  painful  interview,  and  notwithstanding 
my  deep  regret,  I  never  saw  my  friend  again,  for  I  loved  too 
well  to  share  with  a  good  grace  a  man  whom  I  so  dearly 
loved  with  any  other  woman. 

"I  learned  afterwards,  almost  by  accident,  that  he  was 
married,  and  had  a  little  child. 

^'Sorne  years  after  this  marriage,  on  a  night  in  April,  1893, 
I  saiu  a  Miman  form  enter  my  chamher,  but  in  vain  I  tried  to 
discover  its  sex.  The  figure  was  tall,  and  was  wrapped  in  a 
white  sheet  which  covered  it  entirely  and  concealed  the  face. 
I  saw  it  draw  near  with  terror.  It  leaned  over  me,  and  then 
its  lips  fervently  pressed  mine.  But  what  lips  they  were!  I 
never  can  forget  the  impression  that  they  made  on  me.  I 
felt  neither  passion,  nor  thrill,  nor  warmth  ;  nothing  but 
cold — the  chill  of  death. 

'^Nevertheless,  I  experienced  some  pleasure,  some  com- 
fort, in  this  long  kiss.  But  at  no  time  in  my  dream  did  the 
name  or  the  image  of  my  lost  love  present  itself  to  my  mind. 
When  I  woke  up  I  thought  little  or  nothing  of  my  dream, 
until  the  moment  when,  about  noon,  as  I  was  reading  the 
newspaper,  the  Journal  de ,  I  saw  the  following  : 

'' '  We  are  informed  from  X.  that  yesterday  took  place  the 

^  I  have  therefore  changed  the  names  of  persons  and  of  cities.  I  have 
also  suppressed  some  details. 

-   131 


THE    UNKNOWN 

fnneral  of  M.  Y.'  (here  the  high  qualities  of  the  deceased 
were  enlarged  upon).  And  the  article  ended  by  attributing 
his  death  to  typhoid  fever,  *  brought  on  by  exhaustion  occa- 
sioned by  a  too  conscientious  devotion  to  duties  he  was  en- 
deavoring faithfully  to  fulfil/  'Dear  friend/ I  thought, 
'set  free  at  last  from  the  conventionalities  of  the  world,  thou 
didst  come  to  tell  me  that  it  was  I  that  thou  hast  loved,  and 
whom  thou  lovest  still  beyond  the  grave.  I  thank  thee,  and 
will  always  love  thee/ 

"  Shall  I  ever  recover  him?  My  spirit  would  most  gladly 
escape  from  its  prison  here,  to  seek  for  him  wherever  he  may 

be  found. 

"Mademoiselle  L/' 

Letter  494. 

CXXIII.  ''In  the  year  1866  M.  Paul  L.,  Professor  of 
German  at  Saint  Petersburg,  was  staying  with  his  brother  at 
the  house  of  their  mother  living  in  Prussia,  at  some  distance 
from  a  place  where  their  sister  lived.  This  sister  was  slightly 
indisposed  and  suffering. 

"One  morning,  September  17th,  the  two  brothers  were 
walking  in  the  open  country.  Suddenly  Paul  heard  his  name 
called  twice  by  a  mysterious  voice,  and  the  third  time  his 
brother  also  heard  it.  The  voice  pronounced  distinctly 
the  name  of  Paul.  Moved  by  a  dark  presentiment,  for 
the  country  was  denuded  of  inhabitants,  the  brothers  hast- 
ened to  return  home,  where  they  found  a  telegram  telling 
them  that  their  sister  had  grown  worse  and  that  she  was 
dying. 

"Paul  L.  and  his  mother  set  out  at  once  with  post-horses. 
On  their  way,  about  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  M.  L.  saw 
the  form  of  his  sister  suddenly  glide  by  him  and  brush  against 
him  as  she  passed  through  the  carriage. 

"  He  then  had  a  firm  conviction  that  she  had  died  at  the 
moment  when  her  form  appeared  to  him,  and  that  in  the 
morning  she  had  several  times  summoned  him  to  her  dying 
bed. 

"Other  details  might  be  noticed.     When  they  returnee^ 

132 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

home  they  found  that  the  clock  had  stopped  at  the  exact 
hour  of  their  sister's  death,  and  that  her  picture  had  fallen 
at  the  same  time.  The  portrait  had  been  carefully  nailed  to 
the  wall,  but  it  had  fallen  without  pulling  out  the  nail. 

"  M.  L.,  whose  address  I  can  give  you  if  you  wish  it,  can 
certify  that  these  facts  are  the  exact  truth. 

''V.  MOURAVIEFF. 
*•  Saint  Petersburg,  March  18-30, 1899." 
Letter  498. 

CXXIV.  (A)  ^at  was  December,  1875.  My  father  had 
gone  to  his  bed,  from  which  he  was  never  again  to  rise.  He 
had  been  sick  a  long  time,  but  he  kept  on  his  feet  and  moved 
about,  fancying  he  might  deceive  death  so  long  as  he  did  not 
keep  his  bed.  I  was  sitting  near  him,  and  I  saw,  with  grief, 
the  first  signs  of  his  approaching  dissolution.  No  person  in 
the  family  had  as  yet  been  summoned. 

"  Suddenly  one  of  my  uncles  came  into  the  room,  dressed 
in  his  working-clothes,  and  said  to  me,  in  a  choked  voice : 

"  *Is  my  brother  very  ill?' 

"  'You  can  see  for  yourself.' 

"  'Just  think — a  little  while  ago,  when  I  was  putting  the 
plough  away  for  the  night,  I  seemed  to  see  your  father  walk- 
ing slowly,  as  he  always  does,  with  his  hand  on  his  heart — on 
the  place  where  it  pains  him.  He  turned  towards  me  and 
said  :  ''Christopher,  it  is  all  over  with  me,  go  to  our  house." 
I  was  very  much  frightened,  and  called  to  Jules:  "Your 
uncle  !  Don't  you  see  your  uncle?"  "Why,  papa,"  he  said, 
"you  are  dreaming.     There  is  no  one  here." 

"  'If  that  is  so,*  I  replied,  'go  and  tell  your  mother  I  am 
not  coming  home.    I  am  going  to  D.,  to  my  brother's.' 

"This  was  about  6  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  next  day 
at  5  o'clock  my  father  was  dead." 

(B)  "  The  second  thing  I  have  to  report  happened  in  August, 
1889.  My  wife  and  I  were  at  supper.  I  was  very  sad — I  had 
just  lost  my  mother.  Suddenly  a  man  came  in  and  told  my 
wife  that  her  mother. was  very  ill,  and  that  she  must  go  to  her 
at  once.     He  had  a  carriage. 

133 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"  Next  day  I  got  word  that  my  mother-in-law  was  worse, 
and  that  I  must  come  immediately. 

"I  was  about  to  start  when  I  was  seized  with  a  violent  at- 
tack of  neurasthenia.  It  was  impossible  for  me  to  move,  and 
I  sank  into  a  state  something  like  coma. 

"  I  saw  nothing,  but  I  knew  I  was  yonder  in  the  midst  of 
a  family  in  tears  near  the  bed  of  the  dying  woman,  and  I  heard 
a  voice  saying: 

^'  'Is  he  not  coming,  Emilie  ?' 

"Then  came  another  voice,  the  voice  of  the  dying  woman: 
'  He  can't  come,  poor  fellow  ;  he  is  ill.  And  then,  after  all, 
what  would  be  the  use  ?' 

*' An  hour  after  I  got  the  sad  despatch:  'Mamma  is  just 
dead.'  De.  E.  Clement. 

"Moiitreux." 

Letter  503. 

CXXVI.  "  My  brother-in-law,  Jung,  was  one  day  with  his 
father,  his  brother-in-law  Ganzhirt,  and  a  friend  of  the  lat- 
ter, named  Sohnlein,  in  an  arbor  in  their  garden.  Jung  was 
about  twelve ;  Ganzhirt  and  Sohnlein,  twenty-two  and  twen- 
ty-four. They  were  all  in  good  health.  Sohnlein  said  to 
them,  '  When  I  die  I  mean  to  come  and  appear  to  you  in  this 
very  place.' 

''Four  months  later,  as  my  brother-in-law  Jung  was  study- 
ing his  lessons  in  this  arbor,  he  heard  a  noise  as  if  a  tree 
were  shaken  violently,  and  saw  plums  drop  o£P  from  a  plum- 
tree  and  fall  near  him.  As  he  could  see  no  one,  he  was 
seized  with  fear,  closed  his  books,  and  went  into  the  house. 
Soon  after  some  one  came  to  tell  him  that  Sohnlein  was 
dead.  V.  Schaeffer  Blanck. 

"HuniDgiie." 

Letter  504. 

OXXVII.  "I  have  not  myself  experienced  any  impressions 
of  the  kind  that  form  the  object  of  your  questions.  But  a 
person  in  my  family  had  a  great  impression  made  on  her, 
under  the  circumstances  of  the  following  narrative  : 

"  Her  father  lived  at  Bayonne,     She  was  at  Concordia^  in 

134 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

South  America.  On  the  5th  of  March,  1889,  at  seven  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  she  was  lying  in  bed,  but  wide  awake,  when 
she  thought  she  saw  her  father  at  the  foot  of  the  bed  look- 
ing at  her  sadly.  At  that  very  moment  her  father  had  been 
stricken  by  paralysis  of  the  brain,  and  he  died  on  the  31st, 
twenty-six  days  afterwards.  Boi^^N'OME, 

"Principal  Clerk  in  a  Government  Office  at  Mestaganem." 
Letter  505. 

CXXVIII.  "  Allow  me  to  call  your  attention  to  a  circum- 
stance which  seems  to  me  very  curious.  In  the  first  place,  it 
decided  my  future  life,  and,  besides  that,  its  circumstances 
were  not  ordinary  ones. 

*^In  1867  (I  was  then  twenty-five)  on  December  17th,  I 
went  to  bed.  It  was  nearly  eleven  o'clock,  and  as  I  un- 
dressed I  sat  down  and  began  thinking.  My  thoughts  were 
fixed  on  a  young  girl  I  had  met  during  my  last  vacation  at 
the  sea-bath  of  Trouville.  My  family  knew  hers  quite  inti- 
mately, and  Martha  and  I  became  very  fond  of  each  other. 
Our  marriage  was  on  the  eve  of  being  arranged  when  our  two 
families  quarrelled,  and  it  had  to  be  given  up.  Martha  went 
to  Toulouse,  and  I  returned  to  Grenoble.  But  we  contin- 
ued to  love  each  other  so  sincerely  that  the  young  girl  re- 
fused other  offers  for  her  hand. 

'*  That  evening,  December  17,  1867,  I  was  thinking  about 
all  this,  when  the  door  of  my  room  opened  softly,  and,  almost 
noiselessly,  Martha  entered.  She  was  dressed  in  white,  with 
her  hair  streaming  over  her  shoulders.  Eleven  o'clock  struck 
— this  I  can  confidently  assert,  for  I  was  not  sleeping.  The 
vision  drew  near  me,  leaned  lightly  over  me,  and  I  tried  to 
seize  the  young  girl's  hand.  It  was  icy  cold.  I  uttered  a  cry, 
the  phantom  disappeared,  and  I  found  myself  holding  a  glass 
of  cold  water  in  my  hand.  This  may  have  given  me  the  sen- 
sation of  cold.^     But,  observe,  I  was  not  asleep,  and  the  glass 

'  A  superficial  examination  miglit  tend  to  prove  that  this  wa?  an  hallu- 
cination —  that  is,  that  it  was  the  work  of  the  imagination.  But  tele- 
patliic  influence  is  much  more  probable.  This  instance  is  like  that  m 
CXXII 

135 


THE    UNKNOWN 

of  water  had  been  standing  on  the  tahle  de  mat  at  my  side. 
I  could  not  sleep  that  night.  On  the  evening  of  the  next  day  1 
heard  of  the  death  of  Martha,  at  Toulouse,  the  night  before,  at 
eleven.     Her  last  word  had  been,  '  Jacques  !' 

**  This  is  my  story.  I  may  add  that  I  have  never  married. 
I  am  an  old  bachelor,  but  I  think  constantly  of  my  vision.  It 
haunts  my  sleep.  Jacques  C. 

"Grenoble."  Letter  510. 

CXXIX.  ''  I  had  had  a  little  girl  friend  during  my  child- 
hood. Her  name  was  Helene.  I  loved  her  dearly.  Her 
father,  who  was  in  government  employ,  was  removed  to  Paris, 
and  we  had  to  be  parted,  which  caused  both  of  us  great  re- 
gret. Before  they  left  Helene  came  and  brought  me  her 
photograph  ;  she  put  it  herself  into  an  empty  frame  on  a  little 
table  in  my  room,  and  we  promised  to  write  often  to  each 
other — a  promise  which  we  kept. 

*^  The  air  of  the  capital  was  injurious  to  my  poor  Helene, 
who  had  always  been  delicate.  She  grew  more  and  more  ail- 
ing, and  soon  I  heard  that  she  was  in  a  consumption.  From 
that  moment,  and  without  letting  her  know  what  I  was  doing, 
I  closely  watched  the  progress  of  her  illness.  One  day  I  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  her  that  was  very  gay — she  was  much 
better.  She  hoped  to  come  and  spend  the  summer  with  me. 
This  sudden  improvement  frightened  me  at  first,  and  then  I 
said  to  myself  that,  after  all,  it  was  possible  Helene  might 
get  well. 

"  The  next  day,  April  15,  1896,  I  felt  uneasy  all  day.  I 
was  still  finishing  my  studies.  In  the  evening,  after  dinner, 
I  went  to  my  room,  and  was  bending  over  a  problem  in 
geometry,  on  which  I  had  great  difficulty  in  fixing  my  at- 
tention. Helene's  photograph  was  near  me,  standing  always 
on  the  spot  where  she  had  placed  it,  and  my  eyes  were  con- 
tinually upon  it. 

"  Suddenly  I  saw  the  face  in  the  photograph  raise  its  eye- 
lids. The  mouth  opened  as  if  she  were  going  to  speak.  A 
noise  at  this  moment  made  me  start.  It  was  my  clock  strik- 
ing eight.     I  fancied  I  must  have  been  dreaming.     I  rubbed 

136 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

my  eyes  and  looked  again.  This  time  I  distinctly  saw  the 
face  move  its  lips,  then  it  opened  its  eyes,  then  closed  them 
slowly,  opened  them  and  closed  them  again  with  a  deep 
sigh.^ 

"  I  dared  no  longer  look  at  the  photograph.  I  picked  up 
my  lamp  and  went  to  bed,  early  as  it  was,  and  I  tried,  but  in 
vain,  to  go  to  sleep. 

''  About  ten  o'clock  I  heard  a  startling  ring  at  the  front 
door.  I  called  out  to  my  parents  who  had  gone  to  bed.  It 
was  a  despatch  containing  these  words  :  '  Helene  died  this 
evening  at  eight  o'clock.' 

''  Next  day  the  first  train  took  me  to  Paris  with  my  father. 
I  was  anxious  to  be  present  at  the  funeral  of  my  dear  one, 
and  also  to  hear  particulars  concerning  her  last  moments.  I 
heard  that  on  the  day  of  her  death  she  had  been  talking  of 
me  continually.  She  had  even  said  :  '  Perhaps  Valentine  is 
looking  at  my  photograph  at  this  moment.  He  thinks  I  am 
getting  better,  but  I  know  I  am  going  to  die.'  A  few  mo- 
ments before  her  last  she  begged  I  should  receive  news  of 
her  death  immediately,  and  that  they  would  send  me  her  fare- 
well.    Her  last  word  was  my  name. 

''Others  may  explain  this  as  they  will,  but  I  am  quite  sure 
that  I  was  not  under  an  illusion.  I  never  fcook  any  interest 
in  apparitions,  and  my  health  was  entirely  normal. 

"  Valentine  C. 

"Roanne." 

Letter  542. 

CXXX.  ''  One  of  my  college  friends  (I  am  a  woman  doctor) 
went  out  to  India  as  a  medical  missionary.  We  lost  sight  of 
each  other,  as  often  happens,  still  we  were  sincerely  attached 
to  each  other. 

"  One  morning — it  was  the  night  between  October  38th  and 
29th  (I  was  then  at  Lausanne) — I  was  awakened  at  six  o'clock 
by  some  little  knocks  on  my  door.     My  bedroom  opened  on 

'  Let  me  once  more  repeat  that  all  this  was  not  real.  It  was  an  im- 
pression on  the  lad's  brain  by  the  girl  who  was  dying.  See  also  cases 
v.,  XLIX.,  and  CXX. 

137 


THE    UNKNOWN 

a  corridor,  from  which  there  was  a  staircase  leading  to  an- 
other story.  I  used  to  leave  my  door  ajar  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  a  great  white  cat  I  then  had,  who  liked  to  go  out 
hunting  during  the  night  (the  house  swarmed  with  mice). 
The  knocks  were  repeated.  The  night-bell  had  not  rung, 
and  I  had  heard  no  one  come  up  the  stairs. 

''  By  chance  my  eyes  lighted  on  my  cat,  who  was  occupy- 
ing his  usual  place  at  the  foot  of  my  bed.  He  was  sitting  up, 
with  his  fur  bristling,  trembling  and  growling.  The  door 
was  shaken  as  if  by  a  slight  gust  of  wind,  and  I  saw  a  figure 
wrapped  in  a  kind  of  white  gauze,  like  a  veil  over  some  black 
material.  I  could  not  distinctly  see  the  face.  She  drew  near 
me.  I  felt  a  cold  shiver  pass  over  me  ;  I  heard  the  cat  growl 
furiously.  Instinctively  I  shut  my  eyes,  and  when  I  reopened 
them  all  had  disappeared.  The  cat  was  trembling  all  over 
and  was  covered  with  sweat.  ^ 

"  I  must  own  that  no  thought  of  my  friend  in  India  oc- 
curred to  me.  I  was  thinking  of  another  person.  But 
about  a  fortnight  later  I  learned  that  my  friend,  on  the  night 
of  the  19th  to  the  20th  of  October,  had  died  at  Srinaghar  in 
Cashmere.  I  heard  afterwards  that  the  cause  of  her  death 
was  peritonitis.  Marie  de  Thilo,  M.D. 

"  Saint  Junien,  Switzerland." 

Letter  514. 

CXXXI.  '^  I  was  one  morning  in  my  dining-room  ;  no  one 
but  a  servant  and  myself  were  there.  We  were  both  busied 
with  household  affairs.  My  servant  was  dusting  a  table  and 
had  her  back  turned  towards  me.  I  was  fixing  some  things 
on  another  table  which  stood  between  us.  Everybody  else  in 
the  house  was  asleep,  for  it  was  very  early  in  the  morning,  so 
that  the  most  profound  silence  reigned  in  the  house.  Sud- 
denly we  heard  a  noise  which  seemed  like  that  of  a  heavy 
bird  slowly  alighting,  after  several  times  beating  its  wings. 
Something  seemed  to  pass  between  us  through  the  middle  of 
the  room.     We   both   were  startled.     The   servant   turned 


'  This  experience  with  animals  is  not  unique.     See  cases  XXIX.  and 
CLXXVII.    It  is  worthy  of  attention. 

188 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

round  quickly,  letting  the  feather-duster  she  was  holding 
drop  from  her  hand,  and  she  looked  at  me  with  every  sign  of 
fright.  I  stood  motionless,  stupefied  and  silent.  After  a 
few  seconds,  when  I  had  somewhat  recovered  from  my  aston- 
ishment, I  sprang  to  the  window  and  looked  out.  There  was 
a  court-yard  outside,  in  which  I  could  see  nothing  whicli 
might  have  caused  the  noise.  Wishing,  above  all  things,  to 
find  an  explanation,  I  opened  two  doors.  One  led  into  a  ves- 
tibule, the  other  into  an  unoccupied  bedchamber.  I  searched 
everywhere.  Nothing — nothing  anywhere.  Then,  without 
saying  more  about  it,  I  sent  to  hear  how  a  lady  was  in  whom 
I  took  much  interest,  and  who  I  had  left  the  night  before  on 
her  death-bed.  It  was  only  a  short  distance  from  my  house. 
When  the  servant  got  back  she  said  :  *  She  died  this  morn- 
ing at  half -past  six.'    It  was  then  seven. 

"  The  strange  noise  occurred  exactly  at  the  moment  of  her 
death.  Madame  B. 

"^^^^'•^•"  Letter  519. 

CXXXII.  (A)  "In  the  winter  of  1870-71  I  found  myself 
one  evening  alone  with  my  mother  and  grandmother,  who 
had  left  Saint-Etienne  some  days  before  to  come  and  spend  a 
month  with  us,  her  daughter  and  her  granddaughter.  She 
had  left  her  son  Pierre,  a  man  of  thirty-five,  slightly  indis- 
posed, the  result  of  a  chill.  She  was  not  the  least  uneasy 
about  him,  and  having  planned  to  make  the  journey  some 
time  before,  she  had  come  on  as  she  proposed  and  had 
joined  ns  at  Marseilles. 

"  One  evening  we  had  just  gone  to  bed,  I  in  the  same  room 
with  my  grandmother,  and  mamma  in  another  chamber,  when 
a  violent  ringing  made  us  jump  in  our  beds.  It  was  eleven 
o'clock  at  night.  I  got  up  and  met  my  mother  at  the  door. 
She  had  also  got  up  to  learn  who  had  rung.  We  stood,  both 
of  us,  in  the  vestibule,  and  called  out  several  times  :  '  Who  is 
there  T  Without  getting  any  answer  (and  without  opening 
the  door)  we  went  back  into  our  rooms  and  went  to  bed. 
My  grandmother  had  stayed  in  bed,  and  I  found  her  sitting 
up  and  a  little  alarmed  when  she  found  we  had  had  no  answer. 

139 


THE    UNKNOWN 

**  Hardly  had  we  composed  ourselves  after  this  when  the 
bell  rang  again,  more  loudly  and  insistently  than  the  first 
time.     Again  we  were  disturbed. 

"This  time,  indeed,  1  sprang  up  with  the  vivacity  of  a 
child  of  fourteen  (I  was  then  fourteen  years  old)  and  I  reached 
the  front  door  before  my  mother.  I  asked  who  was  there. 
There  was  no  answer.  We  opened  the  door,  we  looked  up  and 
down  the  staircase,  we  examined  the  floors  above  and  below — 
there  was  nobody  anywhere.  We  came  back  to  our  rooms 
very  uneasy,  with  heavy  hearts,  now  expecting  to  hear  of 
some  misfortune,  and  after  a  sleepless  night  for  my  mother 
and  grandmother  (though  I  went  to  sleep,  for  I  was  at  an  age 
when  one  can  sleep  through  anything),  we  received  in  the 
evening  of  that  exciting  day  the  following  telegram  :  '  Pierre 
died  last  night  at  eleven  o'clock.  Tell  mamma.  Prepare  her 
for  this  sad  news.' 

(B)  '^lu  1884,  the  year  of  the  cholera  at  Marseilles,  I  left 
f  or  Bagneres-de-Bigorre  and  Bareges,  with  my  husband  and  my 
two  children.  I  had  been  there  about  a  week,  staying  at  the 
Hotel  de  TEurope.  One  night  I  was  rudely  awakened  by 
no  apparent  cause.  My  chamber,  where  I  slept  alone,  was 
perfectly  dark.  As  I  got  out  of  bed  I  saw  a  figure  standing 
upright,  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  light.  I  gazed  at  it,  a  good 
deal  moved  as  you  may  imagine,  and  I  recognized  my  hus- 
band's brother-in-law,  a  doctor,  who  said  :  '  Warn  Adolphe — 
tell  hi7n  I  am  dead.'  I  at  once  called  my  husband,  who  was 
sleeping  in  the  next  room,  and  said  to  him :  '  I  have  just  seen 
your  brother-in-law.     He  told  me  he  was  dead.' 

"  The  next  day  a  telegram  confirmed  the  news.  An  attack 
of  cholera  (contracted  while  attending  patients  who  were 
poor)  had  carried  him  off  in  a  few  hours. 

'*  There  was  not  in  the  whole  world  a  man  more  full  of 
sympathy,  or  more  devoted  to  his  patients. 

*'H.    PONCER. 
"415  Rue  Paradis,  Marseilles." 

Letter  523. 

CXXXIV.  ''M.  Rigagnon,  cure  in  the  Parish  of  Saint- 
Martial  of  Bordeaux,  being  in  his  room  engaged  in  writing, 

140 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

saw  before  him  his  brother  who  lived  in  the  colonies,  and  who 
said  to  him,  ^  Adieu,  /  am  dying  T  M.  Rigagnon,  much 
moved,  called  in  his  vicars  (his  assistant  clergy),  and  told 
them  what  he  had  jnst  seen.  These  gentlemen  wrote  down 
the  day  and  the  hour  of  the  apparition,  and  some  time  after 
news  of  the  brother^s  death  arrived.  It  coincided  exactly 
with  the  date  at  which  he  had  appeared  to  M.  Rigagnon. 
This  fact  was  related  to  me  by  one  of  the  vicars  who  wrote 
down  an  account  of  it  as  soon  as  it  occurred. 

"E.  Begouin. 
"  Reaux,  near  Jouzac  (Charente  Inf erieure. )" 
Letter  524. 

CXXXV.  *^My  grandfather  lived  in  a  chateau,  which  was 
very  lonely,  in  the  midst  of  woods  ;  but  this  chateau  was  a 
modern  building,  and  had  nothing  mysterious  about  it — no 
legends  ;  not  even  the  '  ghost,'  indispensable  to  the  reputa- 
tion of  an  old  castle.  My  grandfather's  sister  had  married  a 
doctor  in  a  neighboring  village. 

**  At  the  moment  the  thing  took  place  that  I  am  going  to 
relate  my  grandfather  was  absent.  His  brother-in-law,  the 
doctor  being  seriously  ill,  he  had  gone  off  in  the  evening, 
begging  my  grandmother,  my  mother,  three  of  my  aunts, 
and  my  two  uncles  not  to  expect  him  back  that  night,  for, 
unless  he  found  his  brother-in-law  better,  he  would  not  come 
home. 

"  Notwithstanding  this,  and  because  the  return  of  one  of 
my  uncles  was  expected  (I  think  from  Cochin-China,  where 
he  had  served  in  a  campaign),  all  the  family  was  sitting  np 
talking  in  the  dining-room.  The  night  passed  rapidly,  no 
one  was  fatigued,  when  at  two  o'clock  every  one  in  the  din- 
ing-room (among  them  my  uncles,  two  sceptical  soldiers,  but 
very  courageous  men)  distinctly  heard  the  door  of  the  salon, 
the  next  room,  slammed  with  a  violence  that  made  them 
jump  in  their  chairs.  (I  speak  of  the  door  which  separates 
the  salo7i  from  the  passage  opposite  to  the  dining-room.) 
There  was  no  mistake  about  it ;  the  door  that  was  closed  in 
this  manner,  or  at  least  the  door  that  my  family  heard  close, 

141 


THE    UNKNOWN 

was  close  to  them.  It  was  the  noise  of  a  door  in  the  honse, 
not  a  front  door.  My  mother  has  told  me  often  :  '  We 
heard  the  door  close  as  if  a  fierce  gust  of  wind  had  entered 
the  house  and  blown  it  to.'  This  gust  of  wind  (absolutely 
without  reality,  as  you  will  see  presently)  had  at  least  this 
much  real  about  it  that  my  kinsfolks :  some  more,  some  less, 
felt  a  sort  of  cold  sweat  on  their  faces  as  it  passed  them, 
such  as  they  might  have  felt  in  a  nightmare.  Conversation 
stopped.  The  noise  of  the  door  seemed  strange  to  them,  and 
gave  them  all  an  uneasiness  they  could  not  have  explained. 
Soon  one  of  my  uncles  began  to  laugh  at  the  piteous  faces 
of  his  mother  and  sisters.  At  once  an  amusing  search  was 
organized.  One  uncle,  a  man  of  tried  courage,  took  the 
lead.  A  comical  procession  was  organized  from  the  dining- 
room  to  the  salon.  They  first  examined  the  door  of  the 
salon,  which  every  one  of  them  had  certainly  heard  close 
with  a  loud  noise;  but,  behold  !  it  was  locked  and  bolted  ! 
The  family  in  Indian  file  went  through  the  chateau.  All 
the  doors  were  closed,  the  outside  doors  were  chained,  all 
the  windows  were  shut,  no  current  of  air  through  the 
house  had  disturbed  or  blown  anything.  There  was  nothing 
to  explain  how  a  door  very  near  them  could  have  been 
shut  so  violently  by  a  gust  of  wind. 

"  My  grandfather  came  home  the  next  morning,  and  told 
them  that  his  brother-in-law  was  dead.  *  At  what  hour  did 
he  die  ?'  they  asked  him.  '^At  two  in  the  morning.'  ''At 
two  T  ^Two  o'clock  precisely.'  The  noise  of  the  door  had 
been  heard  by  seven  persons  exactly  at  that  hour  of  the 
morning. 

"Rene  Gautier, 
"  Student  preparing  for  his  baccalaureate  degree  at  Buckingham, 
"St.  John's  Royal  School,  England." 
Letter  525. 

CXXXVI.  ''^One  of  my  friends,  M.  Dubreuil,  in  whose 
word  I  place  absolute  trust,  told  me  the  following  circum- 
stance : 

*'His  father-in-law,  M.  Corbeau,  superintendent  of  the 
Fonts  et  Chausseee,  attached  to  the  Department  of  the  Navy, 

143 


OF  TELEPATHIC  COMMUNICATIONS 

had  been  sent  some  time  before  to  Tonquin  to  overlook  cer- 
tain  works.     His  wife  had  accompanied  him. 

*^^One  day,  in  the  afternoon,  my  friend's  wife  saw  her 
mother's  figure  pass  between  her  and  her  son's  cradle.  The 
child  was  asleep  at  the  moment  in  his  mother's  chamber,  but 
he  woke  np  at  once,  calling  for  his  grandmother  as  if  he  saw 
her  at  the  foot  of  his  bed.  Madame  Dubrenil  at  once  had  a 
presentiment  that  her  mother,  Madame  Corbeau,  must  be 
dead.  And  indeed  her  death  had  taken  place  that  very  day 
on  board  the  steamer  which  was  bringing  her  back  to  France. 
She  was  buried  at  Singapore. 

^'I  can,  if  yon  wish,  get  you  the  exact  date  of  her  decease, 
and  the  name  of  the  steamer  on  which  it  took  place. 

"M.  Hanjstais. 

"  10  Avenue  Lagache,  Villemomble  (Seine)." 
Letter  527. 

CXXXVII.  "In  July,  1887,  when  I  was  nineteen,  I 
found  myself  at  Toulon,  serving  my  time  as  a  volunteer  in 
the  Sixty-first  Regiment  of  the  line,  quartered  in  the  barracks 
of  the  Jeu  de  Paume.  I  had  a  brother  named  Gabriel,  whom 
I  dearly  loved  ;  he  was  ten  years  older  than  I  was,  and  was  a 
draughtsman  at  the  Ministry  of  "War.  He  was,  however,  very 
ill  at  Vauvert,  where,  having  had  a  furlough,  he  was  at  home 
at  the  time  with  his  parents.  I  had  been  to  see  him  in  June, 
and,  although  his  condition  was  bad,  I  did  not  think  it  seri- 
ous. During  the  night  of  the  3d  and  4th  of  July,  about  one 
o'cloch  m  the  morfiing,  I  started  up  awake,  with  my  pillow  wet 
with  tears,  having  a  certainty — a  conviction — that  my  poor 
brother  was  dead.  This  conviction  could  not  have  been  a 
dream,  otherwise,  sooner  or  later,  I  should  have  recalled  my 
dream,  which  I  never  did. 

"  As  I  write  these  lines  the  memory  of  those  unhappy 
moments  comes  vividly  before  me.  Being  awake  I  lit  my 
candle,  which  I  kept  under  my  bolster,  and  set  it  on  a  gar- 
bage-box that  stood  near,  for  I  often  studied  my  class-books 
in  bed.  I  was  then  a  corporal,  which  gave  me  the  privilege 
of  ijiiving  this  rude,  foul-smelling  table  de  nuit.  Forgive  me 
for  writing  you  such  details.     I  do  so  that  you  may  see  how 

143 


THE    UNKNOWN 

exact  I  am,  and  may  so  test  my  veracity.  I  ascertained  that 
it  was  then  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  I  could  not  go  to 
sleep,  and  at  half-past  five,  when  1  went  on  paVade,  I  asked 
the  postmaster,  without  remembering  that  the  telegraph-office 
was  not  open  at  Vauvert  at  that  early  hour,  if  there  was  not 
a  despatch  for  me.  I  asked  the  same  question  when  parade 
was  over,  and  again  was  answered  no.  But  at  the  moment  I 
was  entering  my  quarters,  and  was  unbuckling  my  cartridge- 
belt,  a  man  on  guard  brought  me  the  following  despatch,  sent 
by  my  father  :  'Gabriel  is  dead.  Come  home  at  once.  Cour- 
age.' Thanks  to  the  kindness  of  my  captain  I  was  able  to 
take  the  train  at  2.18.  On  reaching  Vauvert  I  learned  that 
my  brother  had  died  during  the  night — that  is,  at  one  o'clock 
in  the  morning. 

"  My  grief  brought  on  a  few  days  later  trouble  in  my  brain, 
and  ever  since  I  have  been  seriously  ill  at  the  same  time  in 
the  year  with  the  same  thing.  Camille  Orengo, 

"Expert  in  the  Law  Courts  at  Mmes." 
Letter  536. 

CXXXVIII.  "  I  have  heard  the  following  circumstance 
related  by  a  person  with  whom  I  was  at  sea  on  the  Melpome^ie, 
and  whose  word  inspires  me  with  full  confidence  (M.  Jochond 
du  Plessix,  the  lieutenant  on  the  vessel). 

"  About  six  or  seven  years  before,  being  an  ensign  on  board 
ship,  and  ordered  to  Senegal,  he  was  allowed  a  few  days'  leave 
to  visit  his  parents,  who  were  inhabiting  a  villa  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Nantes.  As  he  went  along  the  principal  garden 
walk  which  led  up  to  the  villa,  he  had  a  clear  vision  of  a 
coffin  coming  down  the  walk  towards  him.  That  evening  his 
mother  died  suddenly  in  the  villa.  There  had  been  no  reason 
whatever  to  expect  her  death.  Nores, 

' '  Purser's  Mate  in  the  Navy, 
On  board  the  frigate  Melpomene,  at  Brest." 
Letter  537. 

CXXXIX.  (A)  ''One  night,  about  one  o'clock,  we  were 
awakened,  Martha  and  I,  by  a  most  unaccountable  noise  in 
our  chamber,  a  noise  as  if  some  one  had  been  dragging  chains 

144 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

over  the  floor.  I  got  np  and  found  nothing  unusual  in  the 
apartment. 

"  The  next  morning  my  parents,  and  another  person  who 
slept  on  the  ground-floor,  asked  me  why  there  had  been  such 
a  racket  during  the  night  in  our  part  of  the  house. 

"  So  the  noise  was  certainly  heard  by  five  persons. 

"  The  same  day,  during  the  forenoon,  some  one  came  to 
inform  us  that  a  cousin,  who  had  been  suddenly  taken  ill, 
had  died  during  the  night. 

(B)  ^'  Two  years  ago,  about  five  o^clock  in  the  morning,  we 
were  still  in  bed,  when  we  were  awakened  by  three  little 
knocks,  rapped  very  distinctly. 

"  We  had  an  aunt  suffering  from  nervous  prostration,  and 
our  first  thought  was  that  she  might  be  dead.  A  quarter  of 
an  hour  afterwards,  perhaps,  there  was  a  ring  at  the  front 
door,  and  a  message  to  tell  us  that  this  aunt  was  dying. 
Before  we  could  get  to  her  house  she  was  dead. 

*'  These  communications  from  the  dying  I  will  supplement 
by  a  case  of  telepathy  of  another  kind,  but  it  is  quite  certain. 

(C)  "  Camille  was  at  the  Lycee  (or  high  school)  at  Ohau- 
mont.  About  five  in  the  morning  his  mother  woke  up  and 
said  to  me,  'I  hear  Camille  crying  ;  he  is  calling  me.'  To 
which  I  answered,  'You  are  dreamiug.'  But  next  day  we 
received  a  letter  to  say  that  the  poor  child  had  been  awake 
all  night  crying  with  toothache. 

''Your  affectionate  cousin, 

"  Habert-Bollee, 
"Nogent  ( Haute-Marne)." 

Letter  538. 

CXLII.  (A)  "  My  mother  being  in  her  kitchen  busy  mak- 
ing ready  some  repast,  saw  the  figure  of  her  mother  (my 
grandmother)  pass  several  times  before  her,  though  she  had 
not  seen  her  for  some  years.  Next  day  a  letter  informed 
her,  not  that  her  mother  was  dead,  but  that  she  was  dying. 
She  reached  her  just  in  time  to  close  her  eyes. 

(B)  •'  My  mother,  while  nursing  me  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  saw  my  paternal  grandfather  in  a  corner  of  her 
chamber,  and  at  the  same  time  heard  a  noise  like  that  made 

145 


THE    UNKNOWN 

by  something  heavy  when  it  falls  into  water.  Much  troubled, 
she  woke  my  father,  who,  not  attaching  any  importance  to 
her  vision,  went  to  sleep  again.  Some  hours  after  they  re- 
ceived a  telegram  saying  that  my  grandfather  had  been 
drowned  while  stepping  into  or  out  of  his  boat.  He  had 
left  home  a  little  before,  or  a  little  after,  two  o'clock  on  that 
morning.  SiMOiS', 

"40  RueMuller,  Paris." 

Letter  542. 

CXLIV.  ^'^In  1835  my  grandparents  lived  on  a  country 
place  at  Saint  Meurice,  near  Eochelle. 

*'  My  father,  the  eldest  of  his  family,  had  been  a  sub- 
lieutenant in  Algeria,  where  he  had  passed  ten  years  of 
danger  and  fatigue  in  the  first  years  of  the  conquest. 

''  Enthusiasm  for  danger,  and  the  spirit  roused  by  the  ac- 
counts contained  in  his  letters,  inspired  his  brother  Camille 
with  a  wish  to  join  him.  He  disembarked  at  Algiers,  as  a 
non-commissioned  officer,  in  April,  1835,  soon  after  joined 
my  father  at  Oran,  and  took  part  in  an  expedition  against 
Abd-el-Kader  at  the  end  of  June. 

•  The  French  were  obliged  to  retreat  on  Arzew,  and  lost 
many  men  in  crossing  the  swamps  of  Macta.  My  uncle  re- 
ceived three  gun-shot  wounds,  though  not  severe  ones.  But 
in  the  bivouac  a  French  soldier  cleaning  his  gun  let  it  go 
off,  and  his  ball  struck  my  uncle  in  the  thigh.  He  had  to 
submit  to  an  operation.  When  it  was  over  he  died  of  a 
spasmodic  seizure. 

"  Communication  in  those  days  was  slow  with  Algeria,  and 
my  grandmother  had  heard  none  of  these  things.  Accord- 
ing to  a  very  common  fashion  at  this  period  she  had  on  the 
chimney-piece  of  her  reception-room,  au  premier,  a  very 
handsome  coffee  set  of  porcelain,  arranged  for  ornament. 

''  Suddenly,  in  broad  daylight,  there  was  a  tremendous 
crash  in  that  room. 

"  My  grandmother  and  her  maid  rushed  up,  and  great  was 
their  astonishment  at  the  spectacle  that  awaited  them.  All 
the  pieces  that  composed  the  coffee-service  lay  in  fragments 
on  the  floor  in  a  heap  on  one  side  of  the  chimney,  as  if  they 

146 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

had  been  swept  up  in  that  direction.  My  grandmother  was 
terrified,  and  felt  sure  that  some  misfortune  was  at  hand. 

"  The  room  was  carefully  searched,  but  none  of  the  sug- 
gestions  made  to  my  grandmother,  in  hopes  of  reassuring  her, 
seemed  to  her  admissible — a  gust  of  wind,  a  rush  of  rats,  or 
a  cat  shut  up  in  the  room  by  some  mischance,  etc.  .  .  .  The 
apartment  had  been  completely  closed,  so  that  there  could 
have  been  no  current  of  air.  Neither  cat  nor  rats  would 
have  broken  the  china,  and  then  gathered  into  one  heap  on 
the  floor  the  fragments  of  a  service  that  had  been  set  out 
all  along  the  chimney-piece. 

''There  was  no  one  in  the  house  but  my  grandfather, 
grandmother,  and  their  maid. 

''  The  first  post  from  Africa  brought  news  to  my  grand- 
parents of  the  death  of  their  son,  which  happened  on  the 
very  day  the  coffee-set  was  broken.' 

"J.  Meyer. 
"Niort." 

Letter  549. 

CXLV.  ''Here  is  an  extraordinary  and  authentic  fact 
which  I  received  from  a  source  that  can  be  perfectly  relied 
on.  My  parents  were  one  day  summoned  to  the  bedside  of  a 
neighbor  who  was  dying.  They  went,  and  found  themselves 
in  the  midst  of  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  neighbors  who 
were  awaiting  the  sad  end  in  silence.  Suddenly  a  clock  upon 
the  wall,  which  had  not  been  running  for  years,  gave  forth 
most  clear  and  startling  sounds — ear-splitting  sounds,  like 
those  struck  by  a  human  on  an  anvil.  All  present  rose  up 
in  alarm.  What  did  the  strange  noise  mean  ?  '  You  may 
know  what  it  means,'  said  one  of  those  present,  meaning  that 
death  was  about  to  claim  the  dying  man,  who  drew  his  last 
breath  shortly  after.  H.  Faber. 

"  Agi'icultural  Professor  at  Bissen  (Luxembourg)." 
Letter  555. 

'  These  things  are  not  always  subjective— not  always  a  cerebral  im- 
pression that  has  been  made.  See,  for  instance,  XXIX.,  XXXVI., 
XCV.,  GXXIIL,  CXXVL,  CXXX.,  CXXXIL,  CLIV.,  CLV.,  CLXVI., 
CLXXII,  CLXXVII.,  and  CLXXX. 

147      . 


THE    UNKNOWN 

CXLVI.  ''A  gentleman  of  my  acquaintance  some  time 
ago  told  me  some  circumstances  relative  to  the  death  of  his 
mother.  It  was  one  Sunday  and  at  church-time.  She  left 
him  to  attend  divine  service,  apparently  as  well  as  usual.  An 
hour  after  he  went  out  to  see  one  of  his  friends  who  lived  in 
the  same  street.  As  he  drew  near  the  house  he  saw  in  the 
sky  what  looked  like  a  great  gold  cross,  and  at  the  same  time 
his  heart  was  so  filled  with  poignant  anguish  that  he  did  not 
care  to  go  and  see  his  friend,  and  turned  to  go  home.  He 
had  walked  a  few  hundred  yards  when  he  was  stopped  by  a 
lady  he  knew,  who  said  to  him,  ^  Have  you  seen  your  mother? 
I  hope  she  has  only  had  a  fainting-fit,  but  they  took  her  out 
of  church.' 

^*  He  hastened  home.     His  mother  was  dead. 

^'0.  Lenglet. 

"Mittau(Courland)." 

Letter  566. 

CXLVII.  ''My  father,  who  died  last  June,  has  many 
times  told  me  the  following  experience,  which  gave  rise  be- 
tween him  and  me  to  many  discussions. 

"  When  he  was  young  he  lived  at  Ohampsecret  in  the  Orne. 
He  was  employed  in  a  brick-yard,  and  at  night  two  men  were 
always  on  watch  there. 

"  One  night,  when  he  was  doing  duty  for  a  sick  friend  and 
was  quietly  talking  to  the  other  watchman,  he  distinctly 
heard  steps  coming  straight  up  the  road  and  then  turning 
into  the  side  road  that  led  to  the  brick  kilns. 

*'  He  and  his  comrade  looked  at  each  other,  rather  alarmed. 
At  first  they  dared  not  speak.  They  were  under  the  impres- 
sion that  a  man  had  passed  and  brushed  against  them.  Then 
again  they  heard  steps,  but  this  time  the  steps  seemed  going 
away,  and  their  idea  was  that  the  other  watchman,  who  was 
ill,  and  whose  place  my  father  had  taken,  was  dead.  They 
thought  they  recognized  his  walk. 

''  The  next  morning  they  heard  of  the  man's  death  during 
the  night;  it  took  place  at  a  time  exactly  corresponding  to 
that  in  which  the  footsteps  had  been  heard. 

"  My  mother  could  certainly  tell  me  the  name  of  the  dead 

148 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COxMMUNICATIONS 

man  and  that  of  the  man  who  was  on  watch  with  my  father, 
if  it  is  any  object  for  yoa  to  know  them. 

''EUG.   BONHOMME. 
"99  Avenue  Parmentier  (Paris)." 

Letter  590. 

CXLVIII.  "When  I  was  six  years  old  I  lived  in  a  house 
on  the  Swiss  side  of  the  Jura.  I  had  been  asleep  some  hours 
when  I  was  awakened  (my  father,  my  mother,  and  my  four 
sisters,  too)  by  a  very  loud  voice  calling  my  father,  Florian. 
A  second  call  was  not  so  loud,  and  a  third  was  almost  a  whis- 
per. My  father  said,  '  It  is  the  voice  of  Renaud '  (a  friend 
of  his  living  in  Paris),  and,  rising,  he  went  to  open  the  front 
door.  But  no  one  was  there.  The  newly  fallen  snow  showed 
no  trace  of  any  footsteps.  A  short  time  after  my  father  re- 
ceived a  letter  telling  him  that  his  friend  Eenaud  had  been 
run  over  by  an  omnibus,  and  that,  as  he  was  dying,  he  had 
several  times  pronounced  his  name. 

**Jh.  Junod. 

"Odessa." 

Letter  592. 

CXLIX.  "My  maternal  grandfather,  Frangois  M.,  was  born 

at  Saint  0 ,  died  at  A ,  1882,  at  the  age  of  eighty.     He 

was  in  Paris  in  his  youth,  where  he  worked  as  a  journeyman 
tailor  in  the  Rue  du  Faubourg  Saint-Honore.  As  well  as  I 
can  remember,  he  was  awakened  one  night  at  eleven  o^'clock 
by  three  very  distinct  knocks  on  the  door  of  his  chamber. 
Much  astonished,  he  got  up,  lit  a  lamp,  opened  the  door,  and 
saw  no  one.  Thinking  that  some  practical  joker  had  roused 
him,  he  went  to  bed  again  cursing  the  fellow  who  had  played 
him  the  trick ;  but  three  other  knocks  were  now  heard  on 
the  door.  He  started  up,  intending  to  make  the  man  who 
had  roused  him  pay  dear  for  his  joke,  but,  look  where  he 
would,  in  the  passage  and  up  and  down  the  staircase,  he 
could  not  find  out  where  the  fellow  had  disappeared.  A 
third  time,  having  once  more  got  into  bed,  he  heard  the  three 
taps  as  formerly  at  his  door.  This  time  a  presentiment  led  my 
grandfather  to  suppose  that  it  might  be  his  mother's  spirit, 
though  nothing  in  any  news  he  had  received  made  him  aware 

1491 


THE    UNKNOWN 

that  she  was  ill.     Five  or  six  days  after  this  manifestation  a 

letter  reached  him  from  his  native  village  telling  him  of  his 

mother's  death,  which  took  place  at  the  precise  hour  when 

he  had  heard  the  knocking. 

'^  His  mother,  who  had  an  especial  affection  for  him,  as 

she  was  dying  asked  to  have  a  gown  laid  upon  her  bed,  that 

her  ^ garQon  de  Paris'  had  sent  her  as  a  present  some  little 

time  before.  E.  Deschaux. 

"  Abretz  (Is^re)." 

Letter  595. 

CL.  "  My  mother-in-law's  father  had  among  his  work-peo- 
ple a  good-for-nothing  fellow,  whom  he  was  obliged  to  dis- 
charge, saying  to  him  as  he  did  so,  'You  will  end  on  the 
gallows.' 

''  A  year  or  two  after  he  left  (I  cannot  fix  the  exact  date) 
my  wife's  grandfather  found  himself  with  his  family.  One 
morning  when  at  the  breakfast-table  he  turned  round  sud- 
denly and  asked,  '  Who  is  there  ?  What  does  he  want  of 
me?' 

*'  The  family,  much  surprised  by  the  questions,  and  not 
knowing  what  he  might  mean,  asked  an  explanation.  '  Some 
one,'  he  said,  *came  and  with  a  loud  voice  told  me,  "Adieu, 
master."'  But  none  of  the  other  persons  pre:;ent  heard  these 
words. 

"  Five  or  six  hours  later  my  wife's  grandfather  heard  that 
the  workman  he  had  dismissed  had  been  found  hanging  to  a 
limb  of  a  tree  near  the  city. 

"  Here  is  the  fact  as  it  was  told  to  me.  My  mother-in-law 
remembers  it  perfectly.     I  can  guarantee  its  authenticity. 

'*  I  suppose  that  at  the  moment  the  rope  was  passed  round 
his  neck  the  man  remembered  what  his  former  master  had 
said  to  him,  and,  quitting  life,  had  sent  his  patron  a  fare- 
well, which  he  had  received  at  the  moment  of  the  man's  dis- 
solution. 

'*  This  happened  at  Mulhouse,  my  native  town,  in  1854  or 
or  1855.  Emile  Steffan. 

"  EiiSheim.    The  Palatinate." 

Letter  609. 
150 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

CLL  "I  was  then  ten  or  eleven  years  old.  I  am  now 
thirty-four  and  four  months.  I  lived  with  my  father  and 
mother  at  the  house  of  my  elder  brother,  cure  of  a  little  vil- 
lage near  Pont  Saint -Esprit  (Gard).  At  that  time  in  my 
life  I  had  a  real  passion  for  birds.  Now,  one  evening  after 
dinner  as  I  was  going  to  bed  I  said  to  my  mother,  who  was 
holding  my  hand : 

"  *  Listen,  mamma,  I  hear  a  big  bird  in  the  cellar;  let  ns 
go  down  and  catch  him.' 

"Now  to  get  to  our  bedrooms  we  had  to  go  up  a  stair- 
case, at  the  foot  of  which  was  a  door  leading  to  the  cellar. 

'*  *  You  are  mistaken,"*  she  said. 

'* '  I  am  not  mistaken.  It  certainly  is  a  big  bird,'  I  said, 
but  I  did  not  insist  on  going  down. 

'^  The  next  evening  at  the  same  hour,  as  I  was  going  to 
bed,  I  heard  the  same  bird  in  the  cellar.  The  same  cry 
pierced  my  childish  ears,  but  again  my  mother  said  I  was 
mistaken. 

*'  This  time,  inspired  by  my  love  for  birds,  I  insisted ;  I  was 
resolved  to  have  my  way,  and  pulled  my  mother  by  the  hand, 
until  at  last,  against  her  inclination,  she  yielded  to  my  mu- 
tinous will. 

"We  went  down  into  the  cellar,  my  mother  and  I  (she 
constrained  to  do  so  by  my  caprice).  The  cellar  was  more 
properly  the  cellars,  for  there  were  several  of  them  running 
under  the  whole  of  the  rectory.  We  went  into  them  one 
after  the  other,  the  cry  of  a  great  bird  being  all  the  time 
heard  distinctly,  but  it  changed  from  one  place  to  another. 
Sometimes  it  seemed  to  come  from  under  the  pile  of  fagots, 
sometimes  it  was  behind  the  barrels. 

"  I  let  go  my  mother's  hand  and  ran  after  the  sound ;  I  saw 
no  bird,  nor  did  I  hear  the  flutter  of  its  wings,  nor  any  noise 
that  he  made  by  his  flight.  My  mother,  greatly  frightened, 
for  she  was  naturally  superstitious,  seized  my  hand  again  and 
made  me  go  up-stairs. 

"  By  post  the  next  morning  my  uncle,  the  cure,  received  a 
letter  telling  him  of  the  death  of  one  of  our  uncles,  and  my 
mother  exclaimed,  instantly,  '  The  big  bird  that  Louis  heard 

151 


THE    UNKNOWN 

yesterday  and  the  day  before  was  the  soul  of  yonr  nncle  come 
to  remind  you  of  his  mass.'  For  my  brother,  as  soon  as  he 
heard  of  the  death  of  any  of  his  relations,  always  said  a  mass 
for  their  souls. 

"  My  brother  and  I  both  laughed  at  my  poor  mother's  ex- 
planation, and  no  more  was  ever  said  about  the  big  bird. 

''Louis  Tailhaud, 

"Cure  of  Colombiers." 
Letter  610. 

CLII.  ''  One  of  my  cousins  was  seriously  ill  of  typhoid 
fever.  His  father  and  mother  did  not  leave  his  pillow,  watch- 
ing over  him  night  and  day.  But  one  evening,  both  being 
quite  worn  out,  the  sick-nurse  insisted  on  their  taking  a  little 
rest,  promising  to  come  and  tell  them  if  there  was  the  least 
change.  They  slept  heavily  a  short  time,  and  then  were  sud- 
denly awakened  by  the  door  of  their  room  being  opened 
softly.  My  uncle  called  out,  '  Who  is  there  ?'  My  aunt, 
sure  that  she  was  sent  for,  started  up  at  once  ;  but  as  soon  as 
she  was  seated  on  her  bed,  she  felt  some  one  hugging  her 
close,  and  saying,  ^It  is  1, 7nother,  I  am  going;  but  don't  cry. 
Adieu.'  And  the  door  was  closed  again  very  gently.  As 
soon  as  she  could  recover  from  her  emotion,  my  aunt  ran  into 
her  son's  room,  which  her  husband  had  reached  before  her. 
There  she  learned  that  my  cousin  had  breathed  his  last  just  an 
instant  before.  M.  Ackeret. 

"^^g^^^«-"  Letter  639. 

CLIII.  ''  I  think  it  is  my  duty  to  mention  to  you  a  case 
which  came  under  my  own  notice  in  1886,  when  I  was  a  lieu- 
tenant at  Saint  Louis,  in  Senegal.  One  evening,  after  some 
hours  passed  in  the  society  of  some  good  fellows  and  gay 
comrades,  I  went  to  bed  about  eleven.  In  a  few  minutes  I 
was  asleep.  Suddenly  I  felt  something  press  hard  upon  my 
chest,  and  I  was  roughly  shaken.  I  rose  upon  my  elbow, 
rubbing  my  eyes,  for  there  before  me  stood  my  grandmother, 
an  excellent  woman,  who  was  looking  at  me,  but  it  seemed 
with  dim  eyes.  And  I  heard — yes,  I  heard — her  feeble  voice 
say,  '  I  come  to  say  adieu  to  you,  my  dear  little  one.     You 

152 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

will  see  me  no  more.  .  .  /  I  was  stupefied,  and  that  I  might 
make  sure  I  was  not  dreaming,  I  called  out  loudly,  'Voyons! 
It  is  not  a  dream!'  and  I  got  up.  The  apparition  lasted  only 
a  few  moments. 

"  By  a  post  that  came  in  soon  after  I  heard  from  my  fam- 
ily, to  whom  I  had  written  an  account  of  this  phenomenon  of 
telepathy,  that  my  grandmother,  aged  seventy-six,  had  died 
at  Eochefort.  Her  last  words  had  been  about  me.  '  I  shall 
never  see  him  again,^  she  constantly  repeated.  Her  death 
occurred  at  half-past  eleven  on  the  night  when  I  had  seen 
her,  and  if  we  take  into  account  the  difference  of  longitude, 
it  was  at  the  very  moment  when  my  grandmother  appeared  to 
me.  I  knew  her  to  be  much  broken  by  age,  and  to  be  in  poor 
health,  but  I  had  no  reason  to  be  anxious  about  her.  Such 
is  the  case,  and  I  assure  you  of  its  rigorous  exactness. 

''JuLiEJ^  Lagareue, 
"Captain  of  Infantry  in  the  Naval  Brigade  at  Hanoi'." 
Letter  669. 

CLIV.  *^In  April,  1892, 1  was  employed  as  foreman  of  the 
works  at  the  glass  manufactory  at  Saint-Gobain.  I  was  not 
at  all  inclined  to  believe  in  the  marvellous,  and  if  from  time 
to  time  I  heard  some  story  which  seemed  to  bear  upon  the 
subject,  I  supposed  it  to  be  a  case  of  hallucination.  It  there- 
fore needed  the  testimony  of  several  persons,  whom  I  ques- 
tioned separately,  before  I  could  attach  any  importance  to 
what  follows. 

''  My  wife  was  sitting  on  the  threshold  of  a  door  (A)' 
which  put  our  rooms  into  communication  with  a  little  ter- 
race situated  on  the  ground-floor.  On  this  terrace  worked  a 
woman  who  carded  wool  mattresses.  About  three  o'clock 
both  this  woman  and  my  wife  heard  three  blows  distinctly 
struck  on  the  door  of  a  small  cabinet  (B)  about  a  yard  and  a 
half  distant  from  (A)  our  door.  Very  much  astonished  by 
this  noise,  which  nothing  seemed  to  justify,  as  no  one  was  in 

'  A  diagram  was  appended  to  this  letter,  but  it  is  uuntcessary  to  give 
it  here,  for  it  is  perfectly  explained  by  the  account. 

153 


THE    UNKNOWN 

the  apartment,  they  exchanged  some  remarks  about  similar 
things  which  they  had  both  heard  of.  The  wool-carder  told  my 
wife  that,  as  one  of  our  relatives  was  very  ill,  it  was  probably 
his  spirit,  which  had  come  to  ask  help  from  us.  The  next 
day,  at  the  same  hour,  they  were  all  in  the  same  place  as  they 
had  been  the  day  before;  only  a  maid  was  washing  on  the 
terrace.  The  incident  of  the  day  before  had  been  forgotten. 
All  of  a  sudden  the  three  persons  (my  wife,  the  wool-carder, 
and  our  maid)  heard  the  same  noise,  three  blows  struck  on 
door  B,  the  door  of  the  cabinet.  Their  surprise  became  stu- 
pefaction ;  for  a  long  time  after  the  maid  would  not  stay 
alone  in  the  house. 

**A  letter  the  next  day  told  us  of  the  death  of  one  of  my 
old  aunts,  a  very  devout  woman,  Angelique  Bertrand.  She 
died  at  Pertuis  (Vaucluse)  ten  days  before,  April  5,  1892. 

"Arland. 
•'  18  Rue  Bleue,  Marseilles." 

Letter  705. 

CLV.  '^  I  was  perhaps  twelve  years  old.  My  poor  father, 
one  of  the  heroes  of  Sidi  -  Brahim,  had  passed  the  night  and 
part  of  the  day  by  the  bedside  of  his  mother,  who  was  dan- 
gerously ill.  He  had  returned  home.  About  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  one  of  my  uncles  came  for  him,  telling  him  that 
she  was  worse,  and  had  expressed  a  desire  to  see  his  two  lit- 
tle sons.  My  father  wished  to  take  us.  My  brother,  who 
was  younger  than  I  was,  was  quite  ready  to  go,  but  I  resisted 
so  stoutly  that  nothing  could  overcome  my  obstinacy,  my 
reason  being  that  I  was  very  much  afraid  of  the  dead. 

**So  I  was  left  at  home  with  my  poor  mother,  who,  after 
supper,  put  me  to  bed,  where  I  did  not  want  to  go,  being  still 
afraid  to  be  alone.  Then  she  decided  to  let  me  sleep  in  her 
own  bed,  promising  soon  to  come  and  lie  beside  me. 

"About  half-past  seven  I  felt  a  smart  slap  on  my  face.  It 
was  a  slap  of  extraordinary  violence,  and  I  screamed.  My 
mother  came  immediately,  and  asked  me  what  ailed  me.  I 
told  her  that  some  one  had  struck  me,  and  that  my  cheek 
hurt  me.  With  that  my  mother  examined  my  cheek,  and 
found  it  very  red  and  swollen.     Very  uneasy  after  this,  my 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

mother  grew  anxious  for  the  return  of  my  father  and  brother. 
It  was  not  till  nine  o'clock  that  my  father  came  in.  At  once 
my  mother  told  him  what  had  taken  place,  and  when  she 
mentioned  the  hour,  my  father  said  : 

"  *  That  was  exactly  the  time  that  his  grandmother 
breathed  her  last.' 

"For  six  months  I  retained  on  my  right  cheek  the  mark  of 
a  right  hand,  the  impression  being  very  apparent,  especially 
after  I  had  been  playing,  when  a  child's  face  is  apt  to  be  most 
red ;  hundreds  of  people  at  that  time  noticed  it,  for  the  mark 
of  the  hand  was  then  white.  A.  Michel, 

"Dyer  in  the  Factory  at  Valabre,  near  Entraigues  (Vaucluse)." 
Letter  714. 

CLVI.  "  On  May  31,  1895,  my  eldest  son,  who  had  enlisted 
as  a  volunteer  six  months  before,  at  Valence,  in  the  First 
Hussars,  was  taking  part  in  the  military  manoeuvres  in  the 
country,  which  were  shared  in  by  his  regiment.  Being  the 
foremost  man  of  the  advanced  guard,  he  was  riding  slowly, 
observing  the  country  occupied  by  the  supposed  enemy,  when 
suddenly,  out  of  an  ambush  formed  on  the  edge  of  a  narrow 
part  of  the  road,  came  a  shot  which  struck  my  unhappy  son 
full  in  his  breast.     His  death  was  almost  immediate. 

"  The  involuntary  author  of  this  fatal  accident,  seeing  his 
comrade  drop  his  reins  and  fall  forward  on  the  neck  of  his 
horse,  rushed  forward  to  help  him,  and  he  heard  the  words 
the   dying  man  uttered  with  his  last  sigh  :  '  You  have  done 

me  an  ill  turn but  I  forgive  you  ....  For   God 

and  our  country  always  !  .  .  .  .  Present ! ! !  .  .  .  .'  and 
so  he  died. 

*'Now  this  same  day.  May  13,  1895,  about  half-past  nine 
in  the  evening,  while  my  wife  was  bustling  about  her  house- 
hold affairs,  our  little  girl,  then  about  two  and  a  half  years 
old,  came  up  to  her  mother  and  said,  in  her  baby -talk: 
'Mamma,  look  godpapa'  (my  eldest  was  his  sister's  god- 
father); '  see  mamma — see  godpapa  !   I  am  playing  with  him.' 

"  '  Yes,  yes,  my  darling,  play  away,'  said  her  mother,  busy 
and  attaching  no  importance  to  the  words  of  the  child. 

155 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"  Bnt  the  little  thing,  hurt  by  her  mother's  indifference, 
insisted  on  attracting  her  attention,  and  went  on:  'But, 
mamma,  come  and  look  at  godpapa.  .  .  .  Look  at  liim— there 
lie  is  !     Oh,  how  smartly  he  is  dressed  ! ' 

''Then  my  wife  remarked  that  as  the  child  spoke  she 
became,  so  to  speak,  transfigured.  She  was  excited  by  this 
at  first,  but  soon  forgot  what  had  passed.  It  lasted  only  a 
few  moments,  and  it  was  not  until  two  or  three  days  later  that 
she  remembered  these  details. 

"  A  little  before  noon  we  received  a  telegram  telling  us  of 
the  terrible  accident  which  had  befallen  our  beloved  son,  and 
subsequently  I  learned  that  his  death  took  place  almost  at 
eight  o'clock.  Rouge. 

•'  Villa  des  T.  Neuls,  near  Salon  (Boucher  du  Rhone)." 
Letter  715. 

CLVII.  "It  was  one  evening  about  nine  o'clock.  No  one 
in  the  house  had  gone  to  bed.  My  sister,  who  w^as  seventeen, 
passing  along  the  corridor,  saw  under  a  lighted  gas-burner  a 
tall  and  handsome  girl  whom  she  did  not  know,  dressed  like 
a  peasant  woman.  The  apparition  alarmed  her,  and  she 
began  to  scream. 

"  The  next  morning  our  cook,  a  girl  twenty-five  years  old, 
told  my  mother  that  about  nine  o'clock  the  night  before,  as 
she  was  going  to  bed,  she  saw  before  her  one  of  her  friends, 
a  young  peasant  girl,  whose  description  exactly  corresponded 
to  that  of  the  apparition  that  my  sister  had  seen. 

"  They  afterwards  learned  that  this  girl  had  died  that  same 
day.  Countess  Amelie  Garai^dine. 

"Parella,  Italy."  Letter  751. 

CLVIII.  '^  I  was  a  student  at  the  University  of  Kieff,  and, 
though  young,  was  already  married.  We  went  to  pass  the 
summer  at  my  sister's  country  seat.  She  lived  not  far  from 
Pskow.  As  we  came  back  by  way  of  Moscow,  my  adored  wife 
was  suddenly  taken  ill  with  influenza,  and  though  she  was  so 
young  she  sank  under  it  rapidly.  Paralysis  of  the  heart 
carried  her  off  as  suddenly  as  a  flash  of  lightning. 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

*'  My  fatliGr  was  living  at  Pulkowo.  He  knew  nothing  of 
the  illness  of  his  charming  daughter-in-law,  but  he  knew  she 
was  with  me  at  Moscow,  so  that  great  was  his  surprise  to  see 
her  standing  beside  him,  as  he  left  his  house,  and  for  a  moment 
she  accompanied  him,  then  she  disappeared.  Seized  with 
fear  and  anguish,  he  sent  us  a  telegram  at  once  to  ask  after 

my  dear  one.     It  was  the  very  day  of  her  death I 

should  be  grateful  to  you  all  my  life  if  you  could  explain  this 
extraordinary  circumstance.  Wenecian^  Biliowsky, 

"Medical  student,  21  Niholskaja,  Kieff." 
Letter  787. 

I  have  collected  the  above  accounts,  which  are  assuredly 
numerous,  and  which,  though  they  may  sometimes  seem 
monotonous,  are  really  very  varied.  We  will  add  a  few  others 
not  less  interesting  or  less  instructive  to  us  in  our  research. 
It  seems  to  us  that  as  we  read  our  knowledge  in  this  new 
branch  of  study  should  grow  gradually,  and  with  conviction. 

Madame  Adam  wrote  on  November  29,  1898,  to  M.  Gaston 
Mery,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  he  was  making  on  the  subject 
of  the  ''Marvellous,"  as  follows  : 

CLIX.  "  I  was  brought  up  by  my  grandmother.  I  adored 
her.  Though  she  was  dangerously  ill  she  would  not  let  me 
be  told  of  her  condition,  because  I  was  then  nursing  my  baby 
daughter,  and  she  feared  the  effect  a  great  sorrow  might  have 
on  me. 

"  One  night,  at  ten  o'clock,  only  a  night-lamp  being  lighted 
in  my  chamber,  I  had  been  to  sleep,  but  was  awakened  by  my 
baby  crying.  As  I  opened  my  eyes  I  saw  my  grandmother  at 
the  foot  of  my  bed,  and  I  cried  out,  '  What  a  pleasure,  grand- 
mother, to  see  you !'  She  did  not  answer,  but  raised  her 
hand  to  her  eyes.  Then  I  saw  her  eyes  were  gone,  leaving 
two  empty  holes. 

*'I  sprang  out  of  bed  and  ran  towards  her.  As  I  was 
about  to  clasp  her  in  my  arms  she  disappeared.  My  grand- 
mother had  died  that  very  day  at  eight  o'clocJc  in  the  evening." 

M.  Jules  Clartie  also  wrote  in  answer  to  the  same  request, 
Decer^ber  4,  1898. 

157 


THE    UNKNOWN 

CLX.  (A)  *^  We  had  at  Radevant,  in  Perigord,  an  old  farmer 
of  my  grandfather's,  named  Montpezat.  He  came  one  night 
to  awaken  my  grandfather  saying:  '  Madame  Pelissier  is  dead. 
She  has  just  died.     I  have  seen  lievT 

"Madame  Pelissier  was  my  grandfather's  sister,  married  in 
Paris;  and  in  those  days — the  days  of  diligences — it  took 
fonr  days,  I  think,  for  a  letter  to  reach  a  remote  part  of  Peri- 
gord. Of  course  there  were  no  telegraphs.  When  letters 
came  my  grandfather  learned  that  at  the  same  day  and 
hour  when  Montpezat  had  got  out  of  his  bed,  after  having 
seen  Madame  Pelissier  appear  to  him,  my  grandmother  had 
died  in  Paris,  Rue  Monsieur-le-Prince." 

(B)  *^'Here  is  another  tradition  concerning  my  maternal 
grandmother. 

"  One  of  my  great-uncles  was  a  soldier,  captain  in  the  Im- 
perial Guard.  His  mother  and  his  brothers  lived  at  Nantes. 
When  he  came  to  see  them  he  generally  tapped  on  a  window 
of  the  rez  de  chaussee,  as  much  as  to  say,  '  Here  I  am  I' 

''One  evening  the  whole  family  being  assembled  heard 
knocks  upon  this  window-pane.  My  great-grandmother  got 
up  joyfully,  crying :  'It  is  he  !  He  has  come  back  from  the 
army !' 

"They  ran  to  the  door.  No  one  was  there.  Now  at  that 
very  hour  my  great-uncle  luas  killed  hy  a  Tyrolian  chasseur 
at  Wagram,  one  of  the  last  shots  fired  on  that  day.  I  have 
his  Cross  of  Honor,  a  little  cross  which  the  Emperor  took 
from  his  own  breast  to  give  him  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  I 
also  have  the  letter  his  colonel  wrote  when  he  sent  it  to  his 
family. 

"At  that  hour  at  Nantes,  when — I  know  not  by  what 
hallucination  of  hearing  (shared  by  his  mother  and  her  other 
children) — an  invisible  hand  had  rapped  upon  the  window- 
pane,  their  absent  relative  fell  dying  at  Wagram." 

The  next  narrative  is  that  of  M.  Henriquet,  an  architect,  who 
related  it  in  presence  of  M.  Eymar  de  Peyre,  editor-in-chief 
of  the  Indejpendant  at  Bergerac.  It  happened  to  M.  Monte- 
goAt,  sub-director  of  the  penal  colony  of  Saint  Maurice-da- 

158    . 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

Maroni  (French  Guiana),  a  native  of  Saint  Alv^re,  in  the 
Dordogne,  and  an  early  friend  and  play-fellow  of  M.  La 
Mothe-Pradelle,  the  deputy. 

CLXII.  *^0n  the  4th  of  February,  1888,  M.  Montegotit 
got  up  early  to  make  his  round  of  inspection  in  the  colony. 
When  he  got  back  at  breakfast  time  his  wife  said  to  him, 
*La  Mothe-Pradelle  is  dead.' 

'*  Surprised  at  first  by  this  sudden  piece  of  news,  he  was 
much  reassured  when  Madame  Montegotit  told  him  what  fol- 
lows. In  the  night  something  had  awakened  her  and  when 
she  opened  her  eyes  she  saw  before  her  La  Mothe-Pradelle, 
who  pressed  her  hand  and  said,  ^  I  have  just  died,  adieu  f' 

^'  On  hearing  this,  M.  Montegotit  made  fun  of  his  wife,  and 
told  her  she  had  dreamed  it  all.  She,  on  her  part,  insisted 
that  she  had  not  been  asleep  when  the  apparition  appeared  to 
her. 

'^  One  or  two  days  after,  M.  Montegotit  gave  a  dinner  party 
and  related  the  circumstances  to  his  guests  at  table,  who 
made  jokes  at  Madame  Montegotit,  but  the  chief  superin- 
tendent of  the  colony  declared  that  he  believed  the  appari- 
tion, and  was  confident  that  La  Mothe-Pradelle  was  dead. 

'*  The  dispute  was  lively,  and  ended  by  one  guest  making  a 
bet.  Six  or  eight  weeks  later  a  copy  of  U Independant  of 
Bergerac  arrived,  announcing  that  M.  de  La  Mothe-Pradelle, 
deputy  from  the  Dordogne,  died  in  the  night  of  February 
3-4,  1888." 

Such  is  what  was  told  to  M.  Henriquet  by  M.  Mont^golit 
himself,  and  confirmed  by  Madame  Montegotit. 

This  case,  not  less  certain  or  less  precise  than  the  preced- 
ing ones,  is  extracted  from  the  Annales  des  Sciences  Psychiques 
(1894,  p.  65).  Here  is  another,  copied  from  the  same  publi- 
cation (1895,  p.  200),  addressed  from  Montelimar  to  Doctoi 
Darieux,  by  M.  Riondel,  a  lawyer  in  that  city. 

CLXIII.  '*  I  had  a  brother  much  younger  than  myself.  (He 
died  in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age,  on  the  2d  of  last  April.) 
He  was  employed  on  the  telegraph  lines  at  Marseilles,  and 
was  agent  for  the  Messageries  Maritunes. 

159 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"With  his  health  imdermind  by  a  long  residence  in  the 
colonies,  my  brother  had  frequent  attacks  of  malarial  fever, 
of  which  he  died  in  the  end,  though  nothing  could  have  fore- 
told so  speedy  and  sudden  an  ending. 

"On  Sunday,  April  1st,  I  received  a  letter  from  him,  tell- 
ing me  that  his  health  was  excellent.  That  night — that  is 
to  say,  from  the  Sunday  to  the  Monday — I  was  suddenly 
awakened  by  an  unusual  noise,  very  loud,  as  if  a  paving- 
stone  were  rolling  over  the  bare  floor  of  my  chamber,  in 
which  I  slept  alone,  and  which  I  always  locked. 

"It  was  (I  made  sure  by  looking  at  my  watch,  and  by  my 
alarm-clock)  a  quarter  to  two  in  the  morning.  It  is  needless 
to  say  that  when  I  got  up  I  searched  for  the  thing  which 
made  the  noise  that  had  awakened  me  with  a  feeling  of  fear 
that  I  could  not  control. 

"At  eight  in  the  morning  I  received  a  telegram  from  an  in- 
timate friend  of  my  brother,  who  lived  in  an  apartment  next 
to  his,  on  the  second  story  of  the  Kue  de  la  Eepublique,  at 
Marseilles,  informing  me  that  my  brother  was  very  ill,  and 
wanted  me  to  come  to  him  by  the  first  express. 

"When  I  reached  my  buother's  house  I  learned  that  he 
had  died  during  the  night  without  suffering  and  without  ut- 
tering a  single  word. 

"I  inquired  of  the  friend  in  whose  arms  he  had  died,  as  to 
the  exact  moment  of  his  death.  It  was  at  a  quarter  to  two 
o'clock  by  his  friend's  watch  that  my  young  brother's  soul 
had  passed  away." 

Here  is  another  case,  not  less  remarkable.  M.  Oh.  Beau- 
grand  wrote  recently  to  Doctor  Darieux  :* 

CLXIV.  "M.  Gr ,  an  officer  in  the  merchant  marine,  had 

a  brother  with  whom  he  was  not  on  good  terms.     They  had 

ceased  to  hold  any  relations  with  each   other.     M.   Gr , 

who  is  a  first  mate,  was  returning  from  Hayti  to  Havre.  In 
the  course  of  the  voyage,  one  night  when  he  had  gone  to 
sleep  as  soon  as  his  watch  was  over,  he  suddenly  felt  his  ham- 
mock violently  shaken,  and  his  Christian  name  twice  called, 

»  Annates  des  Sciences  Psychiqves  (1879,  p.  328). 
160 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

'  Emmanuel !  Emmanuel  V  He  woke  with  a  start,  and  thought 
at  first  it  was  a  joke.  Then  he  remembered  that,  except  the 
captain,  no  one  on  board  knew  his  first  name.  He  got  up,  and 
went  to  ask  the  captain  what  he  knew  about  it.  The  cap- 
tain said  he  had  never  called  him,  and  made  him  observe 
that  he  never  spoke  to  him  by  his  Christian  name.  The 
mate  went  back  to  his  hammock  and  fell  asleep  again,  but  at 
the  end  of  a  few  seconds  the  same  call  was  repeated,  and  he 
thought  he  recognized  his  brother's  voice.  Then  he  sat  up, 
resolved  not  to  go  to  sleep  again.  A  tliird  time  the  same 
voice  called  him. 

'^  As  soon  as  he  was  up  he  sat  down  at  his  work-table,  re- 
solved by  hard  work  to  get  rid  of  the  impression,  but  he  jot- 
ted down  the  day  and  hour  of  the  phenomenon. 

"Some  days  after  this  the  ship  arrived  at  Havre.  One  of  the 
officer's  friends,  with  a  troubled  countenance,  came  on  board, 
and  as  soon  as  he  saw  him,  before  he  had  time  to  speak,  the 
officer  called  out :  '  Don't  tell  me.  I  know  what  you  have 
to  say.  My  brother  is  dead.  He  died  on  such  a  day  and 
at  such  an  hour.'    The  date  given  was  perfectly  exact.     M. 

G ^'s  brother  had  died  calling  on  him,  and  expressing  his 

regret  that  he  should  never  see  him. 

"M.  G has  long  been  dead.    This  story  was  repeated  to 

me,  and  separately  (which  is  a  guarantee  of  its  correctness), 
by  his  two  sons.  One  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant  barristers  at 
Havre,  the  other  is  a  lieutenant  of  the  navy  on  half-pay. 
What  they  told  me  they  had  had  from  their  father's  lips,  and 
their  testimony  cannot  be  doubted." 

These  phenomena  of  the  appearance  to  persons  at  a  dis- 
tance by  others  at  the  moment  of  their  death  were,  in  Eng- 
land, a  few  years  ago,  the  object  of  an  independent  inquiry,  set 
on  foot  by  savants,  who  maintained  that  the  negative  had 
never  been  proved. 

The  scientific  spirit  of  our  age  is  right  in  endeavoring  to 
separate  such  facts  from  the  deceitful  clouds  of  supernatu- 
ralism,  because  there  is  nothing  supernatural,  and  nature, 
whose  kingdom  embraces  all,  is  infinite.  A  special  scientific 
society  has  been  organized  for  the  study  of  these  phenom- 
I.  161 


THE    UNKNOWN 

ena — The  Society  for  Psychical  Research.  It  has  at  its  head 
some  of  the  most  illustrious  savants  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Channel,  and  has  already  made  important  publications.  Rig- 
orous inquiries  are  made  to  confirm  or  to  corroborate  testi- 
mony that  is  accepted.  The  variety  of  such  testimony  is 
considerable.  We  will  turn  over  for  an  instant  this  collec- 
tion, and  add  a  little  more  of  our  own  to  it,  facts  that  in 
some  instances  are  perhaps  even  more  remarkable.  We  will 
then  attempt  some  research  in  the  way  of  explanation. 

Here  are  some  of  the  extraordinary  cases  we  have  bor- 
rowed from  a  work  entitled.  Phantasms  of  the  Living,  by 
Messrs.  Gurney,  Myers,  &  Todmore,  translated  into  French 
by  M.  Marillier,  under  the  title  of  Hallucinations  TeU- 
'patldques. 

General  Fytche,  of  the  English  army,  wrote,  on  December 
22,  1885,  the  following  letter  to  Professor  Sedgewick,  head 
of  the  Psychical  Commission  : 

CLXV.  '*An  extraordinary  incident  which  made  a  pro- 
found impression  on  my  mind  happened  to  me  at  Maulmain. 
I  saw  a  phantom — I  saw  it  with  my  own  eyes — and  in  bright 
daylight.     I  can  take  my  oath  of  it. 

''  I  had  been  most  intimate  with  an  old  school-fellow,  who 
was  afterwards  my  friend  at  the  University,  but  subsequent- 
ly years  passed  in  which  we  did  not  see  each  other.  One 
morning  I  got  up,  and  I  was  dressing,  when  suddenly  my  old 
friend  came  into  my  chamber.  I  welcomed  him  eagerly,  and 
told  him  to  go  get  a  cup  of  tea  on  the  veranda,  where  I  would 
join  him  immediately.  I  dressed  in  all  haste  and  went  out 
on  the  veranda,  but  I  saw  no  one.  I  could  not  believe  my 
eyes.  I  asked  the  sentinel  who  was  on  guard  before  the 
house,  but  he  had  seen  no  stranger  that  morning.  The  ser- 
vants also  declared  that  no  person  had  gone  into  the  house. 
I  was  certain  I  had  seen  my  friend.  I  had  not  been  thinking 
of  him  at  the  moment,  and  yet  I  had  not  been  much  sur- 
prised to  see  him,  for  steamboats  and  other  vessels  were  con- 
stantly calling  at  Maulmain. 

"  A  fortnight  after  I  heard  of  his  death,  six  hundred  miles 

162 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

from  where  I  was^  at  the  very  moment,  or  almost  the  same 
moment,  when  I  had  seen  him  at  Manlmain." 

OLXVI.  *^  At  Odessa,  on  January  17,  1861,  at  eleven 
o'clock  at  night,  Madame  Obalechef  was  in  bed,  in  excellent 
health,  but  not  yet  asleep;  beside  her  in  bed,  sleeping  on  the 
floor,  was  a  servant,  a  former  serf  ;  in  the  chamber  there 
burned  a  lamp  before  one  of  the  holy  pictures.  Having  heard 
her  baby  cry,  she  called  to  the  servant  to  bring  it  to  her. 

"  *  Chancing,'  she  says,  'to  lift  my  eyes  to  the  door  in  front 
of  me,  I  saw  my  brother-in-law  slowly  enter,  in  slippers  and 
a  dressing-gown,  with  large  plaids  such  as  I  had  never  seen 
him  wear.  Approaching  an  arm-chair  on  which  he  leaned, 
he  stepped  over  the  legs  of  the  servant  who  lay  on  the  floor, 
and  seated  himself  quietly.  At  this  moment  the  clock  struck 
eleven.  Quite  sure  that  I  saw  my  brother-in-law  distinctly, 
I  called  out  to  the  servant,  ''  Do  you  see,  Claudine  ?'' 

" '  But  I  did  not  mention  my  brother-in-law's  name.  There- 
upon the  servant,  trembling  with  fright,  answered  me  at 
once:  *'I  see  Nicholas  Nilovitch."  (That  was  the  name  of 
my  brother-in-law.) 

"  '  Ai  these  words  my  brother-in-law  got  up,  again  stepped 
over  Claudine,  and,  turning,  disappeared  through  the  door 
that  led  into  the  salon/ 

*'  Madame  Obalechef  awakened  her  husband,  who  took  a 
candle  and  examined  the  apartment  very  carefully,  but  he 
found  nothing  unusual.  She  then  was  convinced  that  her 
brother-in-law,  who  was  then  residing  at  Tver,  had  just  died. 
And,  in  fact,  his  death  occurred  on  January  17,  1861,  at 
eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

*'As  confirmation  of  this  story  we  have  the  written  tes- 
timony of  the  widow  of  M.  Nilovitch,  who  certifies  that  it  all 
happened  in  this  way,  and,  further,  that  the  dressing-gown 
seen  by  her  sister  was  exactly  like  one  that  M.  Nilovitch  had 
had  made  for  himself  a  few  days  before  his  death,  and  which 
he  had  on  when  he  died." 

CLXVII.  ''In  the  month  of  September,  1857,  Captain 
Wheatcroft,  of  the  Sixth  English  Regiment  of  the  Dragoon 

163 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Guards,  left  for  India  to  rejoin  his  regiment.  His  wife  re- 
mained in  England,  at  Cambridge.  Towards  morning  of  the 
night  between  the  14th  and  15th  of  November,  she  dreamed 
that  she  saw  her  husband  ill  and  anxious,  at  which  she  im- 
mediately awoke  with  her  mind  much  excited.  It  was  bright 
moonlignt,  and  as  she  opened  her  eyes  she  again  saw  her 
husband  standing  beside  her  bed.  He  was  dressed  in  uni- 
form, his  hands  were  pressed  against  his  breast,  his  hair  was 
-^  in  disorder,  and  his  face  pale.  His  great  black  eyes  looked 
at  her  fixedly,  and  his  mouth  was  contracted.  She  saw  him, 
and  all  particulars  of  his  clothing,  as  distinctly  as  she  had 
ever  seen  him  during  her  whole  life;  and  she  remembers  to 
have  remarked  between  his  hands  a  piece  of  his  white  shirt, 
which,  however,  was  not  stained  with  blood.  He  seemed  to 
Jean  forward  with  an  air  of  suffering,  and  he  made  an  effort 
to  speak,  but  did  not  utter  a  sound.  The  apparition  lasted 
about  a  minute,  then  it  vanished.  The  first  thought  of  Mrs. 
Wheatcroft  was  to  make  sure  that  she  was  awake.  She 
rubbed  her  eyes  with  her  sheet.  Her  little  nephew  was  in 
bed  with  her  ;  she  leaned  over  the  sleeping  child,  and  listened 
to  his  breathing.  We  need  not  say  she  slept  no  more  that 
night. 

**The  next  morning  she  told  this  to  her  mother,  and  ex- 
pressed her  belief  that  her  husband  was  either  killed  or  dan- 
gerously wounded,  although  she  had  seen  no  spots  of  blood 
on  his  garments.  She  was  so  much  impressed  by  this  appa- 
rition that  after  that  night  she  refused  to  go  anywhere.  A 
young  friend  pressed  her,  some  time  after,  to  go  with  her  to 
a  concert,  reminding  her  that  she  had  received  from  Malta, 
as  a  present  from  her  husband,  a  beautiful  dress  that  she  had 
not  yet  worn.  She  refused  absolutely,  declaring  that  as  she 
did  not  know  but  that  she  might  be  a  widow,  she  would  go 
to  no  place  of  amusement  until  she  had  received  letters  from 
her  husband  of  later  date  than  November  14th. 

"In  the  following  month  of  December,  a  telegram  announc- 
ing the  death  of  Captain  Wheatcroft  was  published  by  the 
War  Office  in  London.  It  said  that  he  had  been  killed  before 
Lucknow,  on  the  15th  of  November. 

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OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

"This  news,  printed  in  a  London  paper,  attracted  the 
notice  of  Mr.  Wilkinson,  a  solicitor,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
business  of  the  captain.  Mrs.  Wheatcroft  having  told  him 
that  the  apparition  had  appeared  to  her  on  the  14th,  not  the 
15th,  of  November,  he  made  inquiries  at  the  War  Office,  which 
proved  that  the  captain  died  on  the  15th.  But  in  the  follow- 
ing month  of  March,  a  comrade  of  the  captain's,  having  got 
back  to  London,  explained  the  circumstances,  proving  that 
he  was  beside  the  captain  when  he  was  killed,  not  on  the  15th, 
but  on  the  afternoon  of  the  14th  of  November,  and  that  the 
cross  put  up  over  his  grave  bore  the  date  of  November  14th." 

Thus  this  apparition  had  given  the  date  of  Captain  Wheat- 
croft's  death  with  more  precision  than  the  official  documents, 
which  were  subsequently  rectified. 

CLXVIIL  ''  The  evening  of  Easter  Sunday,  1874, 1  was 
beginning  my  supper,  feeling  very  tired  with  my  day's  work, 
when  I  saw  the  door  open  behind  me.  I  had  my  back  to  the 
door,  but  I  could  see  it  over  my  shoulder.  I  might  also  have 
heard  any  noise  made  by  opening  it,  but  I  am  not  confident 
on  this  point.  I  turned  half-round,  just  in  time  to  see  the  form 
of  a  tall  man  spring  into  the  room,  as  if  about  to  assault  me. 
I  jumped  up  at  once,  and  I  flung  a  glass  which  I  had  in  my 
hand  straight  in  the  direction  where  I  had  seeii  the  face  of  the 
figure,  but  it  had  disappeared  as  I  arose,  and  so  rapidly  that 
I  had  not  had  time  to  stay  the  movement  of  my  hand.  I  then 
understood  that  I  had  seen  an  apparition,  and  I  thought  it 
was  one  of  my  uncles  who  I  knew  was  seriously  ill,  all  the 
more  so  because  its  great  stature  was  like  that  of  my  uncle. 
A  friend,  Mr.  Adcock,  came  in  and  found  me  quite  unnerved 
by  the  incident.  I  told  him  what  had  happened.  The  next 
day  came  a  despatch  which  informed  me,  that  my  uncle  had 
died  that  Sunday,  and  the  date  of  his  death  must  have  coin- 
cided with  the  appearance  of  the  apparition. 

''Rev.  H.  Markham  Hill. 
"London." 

This  testimony  was  corroborated  by  inquiries  concerning  it 
made  of  Mr.  Adcock,  who  wrote  as  follows  : 

165 


THE    UNKNOWN 

'^I  went  to  pay  a  visit,  on  the  evening  of  Easter  Sunday, 
to  my  friend  the  Rev.  Markham  Hill.  I  found  him  quite 
exhausted,  sitting  in  an  easy  chair.  He  told  me,  before  I  was 
able  to  question  him,  that  he  had  seen  the  figure  of  his  uncle 
standing  opposite  to  him  against  a  wall  behind  a  piano,  that 
he  had  picked  a  glass  up  from  the  table  and  had  flung  it  at 
the  figure,  but  it  disappeared.  The  next  day,  or  the  day  after, 
he  showed  me  a  letter  received  that  morning,  which  told  him 
that  his  uncle  was  dead,  and  he  died  the  very  day  of  the  ap- 
parition. Rev.  H.  Adcock. 

"  London." 

CLXIX.  "Towards  the  end  of  March,  1875,  the  event  of 
which  I  am  about  to  give  you  the  details  took  place  at  Gib- 
raltar. I  was  lying  down  in  my  drawing-room  one  clear, 
bright  afternoon,  reading  a  chapter  in  Kingsley^s  MiscellmiieSy 
when  all  of  a  sudden  I  had  an  impression  that  some  one  was 
waiting  to  speak  to  me.  I  raised  my  eyes  from  my  book,  and 
saw  a  man  standing  beside  a  chair,  about  six  feet  from  me. 
He  looked  at  me  very  attentively.  The  expression  in  his 
eyes  was  unusually  grave,  but  when  I  rose  to  speak  to  him  he 
disa]3peared. 

"  The  room  was  about  eighteen  feet  long,  and  at  the  far- 
ther end  I  saw  our  servant,  Pearson,  holding  the  door  open  as 
if  he  had  just  let  in  a  visitor.  I  asked  him  if  any  one  had 
come  in  ?    He  answered,  '  No  one,  ma^am,''  and  went  away. 

"  Then  I  began  to  reflect  upon  this  vision.  I  was  sure  I 
knew  the  face,  but  I  could  not  think  whose  it  was.  His 
dress  had  puzzled  me.  It  was  exactly  like  a  garment  that 
my  husband  the  year  before  had  given  to  a  servant  of  the 
name  of  Ramsay.  Ramsay  was  an  old  soldier  whom  I  had 
found  sick  at  Inverness,  and  who  had  entered  our  service 
after  he  left  the  hospital.  He  did  not  suit,  and  I  had  been 
forced  to  dismiss  him  before  we  left  for  Gibraltar  (February, 
1875).  As  he  got  a  place  as  butler  at  the  Inverness  Club,  I 
had  no  reason  to  be  anxious  about  him.  I  thought  that  he 
was  well  and  behaving  well,  and  that  he  had  learned  by  ex- 
perience how  to  keep  a  good  situation. 

166 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

"  When  my  husband  came  in  I  told  him  what  I  had  seen. 
I  also  told  it  to  his  colonel's  wife  (at  present  Lady  Laffan), 
bnt  I  did  not  write  down  the  date.  However^  in  the  shortest 
possible  time,  I  think,  that  a  letter  could  take  to  come  from 
Inverness,  my  husband  got  from  his  old  sergeant  the  news 
that  Kamsay  was  dead.  The  letter  contained  no  particulars. 
My  husband  wrote  in  reply  that  he  was  sorry  to  hear  the 
news  sent  him,  and  that  he  would  like  to  have  some  account 
of  the  man^s  illness  and  death.  This  is  the  answer  he  received : 
'  Eamsay  died  at  the  hospital.  He  was  delirious,  and  was  all 
the  time  calling  for  Mrs.  Bolland.' 

"I  ought  to  add  that  my  health  had  not  been  good  for 
some  years,  but  at  the  time  of  the  apparition  I  was  better 
than  I  had  been.  The  warm  climate  suited  me  so  well  that 
I  felt  a  renewal  of  strength  that  delighted  me,  and  the  mere 
pleasure  of  living  made  my  life  a  joy. 

''Kate  E.  Bollaj^d. 

"Southampton." 

The  following  is  extracted  from  the  Church  Quarterly 
Review,  April,  1870 : 

CLXX.  "  In  the  house  where  these  pages  are  written  there 
is  a  large  window,  looking  to  the  north,  which  gives  plenty 
of  light  to  the  staircase,  and  also  to  the  entrance  of  the 
principal  room,  which  is  situated  at  the  end  of  a  passage 
which  runs  the  whole  length  of  the  house.  One  afternoon, 
in  midwinter,  he  who  writes  these  lines  left  his  dressing-room, 
which  opens  on  the  passage,  to  go  to  breakfast. 

''The  day  was  dark,  but  though  there  were  not  any  very 
dense  clouds,  the  door  at  the  end  of  the  passage  seemed  ob- 
scured by  a  mist.  As  by  degrees  it  moved  forward  this  mist 
— if  we  may  call  it  so — concentrated  itself  upon  one  spot, 
grew  thicker,  and  assumed  the  shape  of  a  human  figure, 
the  head  and  shoulders  of  which  became  more  and  more  dis- 
tinctly visible,  while  the  rest  of  the  body  seemed  to  be  en- 
veloped in  a  large,  gauzy  vestment,  like  a  mantle  with  many 
folds,  which  fell  to  the  floor  so  as  to  hide  the  feet.  The 
mantle  rested  on  the  floor;  the  rest  of  the  figure  was  pyra- 

167 


THE    UNKNOWN 

midal.  The  fall  light  from  the  window  fell  npon  this  ob- 
ject, which  had  so  little  consistency  that  the  light  reflected 
on  the  polished  panels  of  a  varnished  door  could  be  seen 
through  the  lower  part  of  the  vestment.  The  apparition  had 
no  color.  It  seemed  like  a  statue  formed  out  of  mist.  The 
writer  of  these  lines  was  so  astonished  that  he  cannot  now 
tell  whether  he  advanced  towards  it  or  stood  still.  He  was 
more  amazed  than  terrified,  but  his  first  idea  was  that  he  was 
witnessing  an  unknown  combination  of  light  and  shadow. 
He  was  not  thinking  of  anything  supernatural,  but  as  he 
gazed  he  saw  the  head  turned  towards  him,  and  he  recog- 
nized the  features  of  a  very  dear  friend ;  the  face  had  an  ex- 
pression of  holiness,  peace,  and  repose,  and  the  air  of  kindli- 
ness that  he  habitually  wore  had  increased  and  intensified 
into  a  last  look  of  deepest  tenderness.  (This  feeling  he  who 
writes  these  lines  has  always  experienced  whenever  the  vision 
has  recurred  to  his  memory.)  Then  an  instant  after  all  disap- 
peared. The  way  in  which  it  vanished  can  only  be  compared 
to  that  of  a  cloud  of  steam  when  it  comes  in  contact  with  cold 
air. 

"  The  post  the  next  morning  brought  him  the  news  that 
his  friend  had  tranquilly  passed  away  from  the  world  at  the 
moment  he  had  seen  him.  It  should  be  added  that  his  was  a 
sudden  death,  that  he  who  witnessed  the  apparition  had  not 
heard  his  friend  spoken  of  for  some  weeks,  and  that  nothing 
had  led  him  to  be  thinking  of  him  on  the  day  he  died." 

Mrs.  Allom,  18  Batoum  Gardens,  W.  Kensington,  London, 
writes: 

CLXXI.  *^I  see  no  reason  why  I  should  not  tell  you  how 
my  mother  appeared  to  me  on  the  day  she  died,  although  it 
is  a  subject  on  which  I  have  seldom  spoken,  because  it  is  an 
event  very  sacred  to  me,  and  because  I  would  not  like  to  have 
any  one  throw  doubt  upon  my  story  or  make  a  mock  of  it. 

*'I  went  to  a  school  in  Alsace  in  the  month  of  October, 
1852.  I  was  then  seventeen.  My  mother  remained  in  Eng- 
land. Her  health  was  delicate.  Towards  Christmas,  1853, 
fourteen  months  after  I  left  home,  I  heard  that  my  mother 

168 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

had  grown  worse,  but  I  did  not  imagine  that  her  life  was  in 
any  danger.  On  the  last  Sunday  of  February,  1854,  between 
two  and  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  was  sitting  in  the 
great  study  at  school.  I  was  reading,  when  suddenly  the 
figure  of  my  mother  appeared  at  the  farthest  corner  of  the 
room.  It  leaned  backward,  as  if  she  were  lying  in  her  bed, 
and  she  had  on  her  night-gown.  Her  face,  with  a  sweet 
smile,  was  turned  towards  me,  and  one  of  her  hands  was  raised 
to  heaven. 

"  The  apparition  passed  slowly  across  the  room.  It  seemed 
to  ascend  as  it  walked,  until  the  moment  it  disappeared. 
Her  body  and  her  features  seemed  contorted  by  sickness.  I 
had  never  seen  my  mother  looking  like  that  while  living. 
She  was  deathly  pale. 

'*  From  the  moment  when  I  saw  the  apparition  I  was  cer- 
tain that  my  mother  was  dead.  I  was  so  much  impressed  by 
what  I  had  seen  that  I  found  it  impossible  to  fix  my  mind 
upon  my  studies,  and  it  was  real  pain  to  me  to  see  my  younger 
sister  playing  and  amusing  herself  with  her  companions. 

'^  Two  or  three  days  later,  after  prayers,  my  school-mistress 
called  me  into  her  private  room.  As  soon  as  we  were  there  I 
said:  ^  You  need  not  tell  me.  I  know  my  mother  is  dead.'  She 
asked  me  how  I  could  possibly  know  this.  I  would  not  give 
her  any  explanation,  but  I  assured  her  I  had  knoAvn  it  for 
three  days.  I  learned  later  that  mamma  had  died  on  Sunday 
at  the  hour  lohen  I  saw  her,  and  that  she  had  been  unconscious 
for  a  day  or  two. 

''  I  am  not  an  imaginative  woman,  I  am  not  easily  im- 
pressed, and  neither  before  nor  after  has  anything  like  this 
happened  to  me.  Isabelle  Allom."» 

Captain  0.  F.  Eussell  Colt,  of  Gartsherrie,  Cambridgeshire, 
sends  the  following  narrative: 

CLXXII.  "I  had  a  brother  who  was  very  dear  to  me,  my 
elder  brother,  Oliver,  a  lieutenant  in  the  Seventh  Eoyal  Fusi- 
leers.     At  the  time  of  which  I  write  he  was  at  Sebastopol.     I 

» Mrs.  Allom's  mother  was  Mrs.  Carrick,  wife  of  Mr.  Thomas  Carrick, 
a  well-known  miniature  painter. 

169 


THE    UNKNOWN 

kept  up  a  regular  correspondence  with  him.  One  day  he  wrote 
as  if  he  were  out  of  spirits  and  not  well.  I  answered  that  he 
must  pluck  up  heart,  but  that  if  anything  happened  to  him 
he  must  let  me  know  by  appearing  to  me  in  the  little  room 
where  as  young  fellows  we  had  often  sat  together  smoking 
and  gossiping  in  secret.  My  brother  received  this  letter  just 
as  he  was  leaving  his  quarters  to  receive  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper.  (The  clergyman  who  was  the  celebrant 
told  me  this  afterwards.)  After  Communion  he  went  into 
the  trenches.  He  never  came  back.  A  few  hours  later  the 
assault  upon  the  Eedan  took  place.  When  the  captain  of 
his  company  fell,  my  brother  took  his  place  and  bravely  led 
on  his  men.  Although  he  had  received  several  wounds,  he 
had  crossed  the  ramparts  with  his  men,  when  he  was  struck 
by  a  ball  in  his  right  temple.  He  fell  in  a  heap  with  other 
soldiers.  He  was  found  dead  in  a  sort  of  kneeling  posture, 
upheld  by  other  corpses,  thirty-six  hours  after. 

"His  death  took  place — possibly  he  fell  and  did  not  die 
immediately — September  8,  1855. 

"  The  same  night  I  awoke  suddenly.  I  saw,  opposite  to 
the  window  and  beside  my  bed,  my  brother  on  his  knees, 
surrounded  by  a  sort  of  phosphorescent  mist.  I  tried  to 
speak  to  him,  but  I  could  not.  I  hid  my  face  under  the 
bedclothes.  And  yet  I  was  not  frightened.  We  had  been 
brought  up  to  have  no  belief  in  ghosts  or  apparitions,  but  I 
wanted  to  collect  my  thoughts,  because  I  had  not  dreamed  of 
him  nor  been  thinking  of  him,  and  I  forgot  what  I  had 
written  to  him  a  fortnight  before.  I  said  to  myself  that  it 
might  be  an  illusion,  the  reflection  of  a  moonbeam  on  a 
towel,  or  on  something  else.  A  few  moments  after  I  looked 
again.  He  was  still  there,  his  eyes  fixed  on  me  with  pro- 
found sadness.  I  tried  again  to  speak,  but  my  tongue 
seemed  tied.     I  could  not  utter  a  word. 

"I  jumped  out  of  bed.  I  looked  out  of  the  window,  and 
I  saAv  that  there  was  no  moonlight.  The  night  was  dark 
and  it  was  raining  heavily,  great  drops  pattering  on  the  win- 
dow-panes. My  poor  Oliver  was  still  there.  Then  I  drew 
near.     '^ I  walked  right  through  the  apparition,    I  reached  my 

170 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

chamber  door,  and  as  I  turned  the  knob  to  open  it  I  looked 
back  once  more.  The  apparition  slowly  turned  its  head 
towards  me  and  gave  me  another  look  full  of  anguish  and  of 
love.  Then  for  the  first  time  I  observed  a  wound  on  his 
right  temple,  and  from  it  trickled  a  little  stream  of  blood. 
The  face  was  pale  as  wax,  but  it  was  transparent. 

'^  I  left  my  room.  I  went  into  that  of  a  friend,  where  I 
lay  down  on  a  sofa  for  the  rest  of  the  night.  I  told  him  why 
I  had  come  into  his  room.  I  also  spoke  of  the  apparition  to 
several  people  in  the  house,  but  when  I  mentioned  it  to  my 
father  he  ordered  me  never  to  repeat  such  nonsense,  and 
above  all  not  to  mention  it  to  my  mother. 

''  The  following  Monday  he  received  a  note  from  Sir  Alex- 
ander Milne,  telling  him  that  the  Redan  had  been  taken  by 
assault,  but  it  gave  him  no  details.  I  asked  my  friend  to 
tell  me  if  he  saw,  sooner  than  I  did,  my  brother's  name 
among  the  killed  and  wounded.  About  a  fortnight  later  he 
came  and  told  me  the  story  of  his  death. 

"  The  colonel  of  the  regiment,  and  one  or  two  officers  who 
saw  the  body,  sent  me  word  that  the  look  on  the  face  was 
exactly  what  I  had  described.  The  wound  was  just  where  I 
had  seen  it,  but  it  was  impossible  to  say  if  he  had  died  at 
once.  If  he  did,  his  apparition  must  have  taken  place  some 
hours  after  his  death,  for  I  saw  it  about  two  in  the  morning. 
Some  months  later  they  sent  me  his  little  prayer-book  and 
the  last  letter  I  had  written  him.  They  were  both  found  in 
the  inner  pocket  of  the  tunic  that  he  wore  when  he  died.  I 
have  them  still." 

CLXXIII.  "On  the  night  of  November  14,  1867,  I  went 
with  my  husband  to  a  concert  in  Birmingham,  given  at  the 
town  hall.  While  there  I  felt  an  ice  cold  shiver  pass 
through  me.  Almost  immediately  I  saw  between  me  and 
the  orchestra  my  uncle  lying  on  his  bed.  He  seemed  to  call 
for  me.  I  had  heard  nobody  mention  him  for  some  months, 
and  had  no  reason  to  think  that  he  was  ill.  The  apparition 
was  neither  transparent  nor  vaporous,  but  it  seemed  like  a 
real  person.  Nevertheless,  I  could  see  the  orchestra,  not 
through  the  hody,  hut  behind  it.     I  did  not  try  to  turn  my 

i7i 


THE    UNKNOWN 

eyes  to  see  if  moving  them  would  displace  the  apparition, 
but  I  looked  steadily  at  it  as  if  fascinated,  so  that  my  hus- 
band asked  me  what  was  the  matter  with  me.  I  told  him 
not  to  speak  to  me  for  a  minute  or  two.  The  vision  disap- 
peared by  degrees,  and  after  the  concert  I  told  my  husband 
what  I  had  seen.  A  letter  came  shortly  after,  which  informed 
us  of  the  death  of  my  uncle.  He  died  at  the  very  hour  of 
my  vision.  E.  T.  Taujs^ton^.''^ 

The  Rev.  F.  Barker,  formerly  Rector  at  Coltentham  in 
Cambridgeshire,  signs  the  following  declaration  : 

CLXXIV.  "December  6,  1873,  about  eleven  o'clock  at 
night,  I  had  just  gone  to  bed,  but  was  not  asleep,  when  I 
was  conscious  that  my  wife  shuddered  because  she  heard  me 
give  a  great  groan.  She  asked  me  why.  I  said,  'I  have  just 
seen  my  aunt.  She  came  here  and  stood  near  me  ;  she  smiled 
at  me  with  her  kind,  familiar  smile,  then  she  disappeared.' 

"An  aunt  whom  I  loved  dearly  (my  mother's  sister)  was 
then  at  Madeira  for  her  health ;  her  niece,  my  cousin,  was 
with  her.  I  had  no  reason  to  suppose  that  she  was  seriously 
ill  at  that  moment,  but  the  impression  made  on  me  had  been 
so  great  that  the  next  morning  I  told  all  her  family  (my 
mother  among  them)  what  I  had  seen.  A  week  after  we 
heard  that  she  had  died  that  same  night,  and  when  we  calcu- 
lated the  difference  of  longitude,  it  must  have  been  almost  at 
the  mome7it  when  the  vision  appeared  to  me.  When  my 
cousin,  who  had  been  with  her  to  the  last,  heard  what  I  had 
seen,  she  said,  '  I  am  not  surprised,  for  she  called  for  yon 
continually  when  she  was  dying.' 

"  This  was  the  only  time  I  ever  experienced  anything  of  the 
kind.  Fkederick  Barker." 

The  date  of  her  death  is  confirmed  by  the  death -list  in  the 
Times.  Mrs.  Barker  on  another  occasion  confirmed  the  same 
recital  in  the  following  terms  : 

'  The  signature  of  Mrs.  Taunton's  husband  is  appended  to  his  wife's 
statement. 

172 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

'^  I  perfectly  remember  the  circumstance  about  which  my 
husband  has  written  to  you.  It  must  have  taken  place  about 
eleven.  My  husband  had  not  gone  to  sleep  ;  he  had  just  be- 
fore spoken  to  me.  Then  he  began  to  groan  deeply.  I  asked 
him  what  was  the  matter.  He  told  me  that  his  aunt,  who  was 
at  Madeira,  had  appeared  to  him,  that  she  had  smiled  at  him 
with  her  kind  smile,  and  had  then  disappeared.  He  also  told 
me  she  had  something  black  upon  her  head,  which  might 
have  been  lace.  Next  day  he  told  what  had  happened  to 
several  of  our  relations,  and  he  subsequently  learned  that 
our  aunt  had  died  that  same  night.  Her  niece.  Miss  Garnett, 
told  me  that  she  was  not  surprised  to  hear  that  my  husband 
had  seen  his  aunt ;  she  had  called  for  him  several  times  when 
she  was  dying.     He  had  been  almost  like  a  son  to  her. 

*^P.  S.  Barker. '' 

Miss  Garnett,  who  was  with  her  aunt  at  the  time  of  her 
death,  certified  the  two  preceding  statements. 

CLXXV.  '^Here  is  the  account  of  the  death  of  our  dear 
little  girl,  which  took  place  May  17,  1879.  I  ought  to  begin 
by  saying  that  the  scene  is  as  distinctly  present  to  my  mind  as 
if  it  had  happened  within  a  few  days.  The  morning  was  very 
beautiful,  and  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  I  had  never  seen  the  sun 
so  bright.  My  child  was  four  years  and  five  months  old,  and 
she  was  a  lovely  little  creature.  Five  minutes  before  eleven 
she  came  running  in  from  the  kitchen,  and  said,  *  Mother, 
may  I  go  out  and  play  T    I  answered  ^  Yes.' 

"Then  she  went  out.  After  speaking  to  her  I  went  to 
carry  a  pail  of  water  to  my  chamber. 

"As  I  crossed  the  court-yard  the  child  ran  athwart  me  like 
a  luminous  shade.  I  stopped  short  to  look  at  her.  I  turned 
my  head  to  the  right,  and  the  vision  disappeared.  A  mo- 
ment after  my  husband's  brother,  who  lived  with  us,  called 
out  to  me  : 

"  '  Fanny  has  been  run  over  !' 

"I  flew  into  the  house  like  an  arrow,  and  then  into  the 
street,  where  I  found  her.  She  had  been  knocked  down  by 
the  hoofs  of  a  horse,  and  the  wheels  of  a  baker's  cart  had 

173 


THE    UNKNOWN 

passed  over  her  neck  and  broken  it.     She   expired  in  my 
arms  a  few  moments  after  I  reached  her. 

"  This  is  exactly  how  the  sad  accident  took  place. 

"ANJfE  E.  Wright.'" 

CLXXVI.  '^  My  wife  had  an  nncle,  a  captain  in  the  mer- 
chant service,  who  loved  her  very  dearly  when  she  was  a 
child,  and  often,  when  he  came  home  to  London,  would 
take  her  on  his  lap  and  stroke  her  hair.  She  left  for  Sydney 
with  her  parents,  and  her  uncle  followed  his  profession  in  all 
parts  of  the  world.  Three  or  four  years  later  she  had  one 
day  gone  up  to  dress  for  dinner.  She  had  unfastened  her 
hair,  when  suddenly  she  felt  a  hand  placed  on  the  top  of  her 
head,  and  her  loose  locks  were  being  stroked  quickly  down 
to  her  shoulders.  Frightened,  she  turned  and  cried,  'Oh, 
mother,  why  did  you  do  that  to  me  ?'  For  she  supposed  her 
mother  was  playing  her  some  little  trick. 

'* There  was  no  one  in  the  room. 

"When  she  told  the  incident  at  table,  a  superstitious  friend 
advised  her  to  note  down  the  day  and  hour.  She  did  so.  A 
little  while  after  came  the  news  that  her  uncle  William  had 
died  that  very  day,  and  if  the  longitude  is  calculated,  it  will 
be  proved  to  have  been  almost  at  the  very  hour  when  she  felt 
the  hand  placed  on  her  head. 

'^J.  Chantry  Harris, 
"Owner  of  the  New  Zealand  and  the  New  Zealand  Mail. 

"Wellington,  New  Zealand." 

Here  is  what  Mrs.  Harris  herself  testifies  : 

"It  was  1860,  in  the  month  of  April.  I  was  then  a  young 
girl.  Standing  before  my  dressing-table,  in  my  bedchamber, 
I  was  taking  unusual  pains  with  my  toilet. 

"  It  was  about  six  in  the  evening,  and  at  that  time  of  the 
year  it  was  getting  dark,  when  suddenly  I  felt  a  hand  laid  on 
my  head  and,  stroking  down  my  hair  to  its  full  length,  press 

'  Mrs.  Wright  is  the  wife  of  an  Inspector  on  the  Great  Northern  Rail- 
way in  England.  She  lives  ai  4  Taylor's  College,  London  Road,  Notting- 
ham. 

174 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

heavily  upon  my  left  shoulder.  Frightened  by  this  unex- 
pected caress,  I  turned  quickly  to  reproach  my  mother  for 
having  suddenly  and  without  noise  entered  my  room,  but  to 
my  great  surprise  no  one  was  there.  I  thought  at  once  of 
England,  for  which  my  father  had  sailed  in  the  month  of 
January,  and  I  said  something  must  have  happened  to  him, 
though  I  could  make  out  nothing. 

''  I  went  down  and  told  my  fright  to  my  family.  In  the 
evening  Mrs.  and  Miss  W.  came  in,  and  when  they  had 
been  told  what  made  me  look  so  pale,  Mrs.  W.  said  at 
once,  'Write  down  the  date  and  we  shall  see  what  happens.' 

They  did  so,  and  the  matter  ceased  to  trouble  us,  though 
all  the  family  expected  some  bad  news  when  the  first  letter 
from  my  father  arrived.  On  reaching  England  he  had  found 
his  brother  dying.  In  my  childhood  I  had  been  his  favorite, 
and,  dying,  my  name  had  been  the  last  word  that  he  pro- 
nounced.'* 

CLXXVII.  "  One  Thursday,  about  the  middle  of  August, 
1849,  I  went,  as  I  often  did,  to  visit  the  Rev.  Mr.  Harrison 
and  his  family,  with  whom  I  had  very  intimate  relations.  As 
the  weather  was  very  fine,  we  all  went  together  to  the  Zoologi- 
cal Gardens.  I  note  this  particularly  because  it  proves 
beyond  a  doubt  that  Mr.  Harrison  and  his  family  were  all  in 
good  health  that  evening  and  no  one  had  any  suspicion  of 
what  was  about  to  come  to  pass.  The  next  day  I  went  to  pay 
a  visit  to  some  relations  in  Hertfordshire.  They  lived  in  a 
house  called  Hamstead  Lodge,  twenty-six  miles  from  London, 
on  the  high-road.  We  dined  generally  at  two  o'clock,  and 
the  following  Monday,  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  had  dined, 
I  left  the  ladies  in  the  drawing-room  and  went  across  the 
place  to  the  great  London  road.  Observe  that  we  were  in  the 
middle  of  a  day  in  the  month  of  August,  with  bright  sun- 
shine on  a  broad  highway,  travelled  by  many  people,  and  a 
hundred  yards  from  a  way-side  inn.  I  myself  was  feeling 
gay,  full  of  life  and  youth,  and  there  was  nothing  around  me 
to  disorder  my  imagination.  Some  laborers  were  at  work  at 
a  short  distance. 

**A11  of  a  sudden  a  'phantom'  rose  before  me,  so  close  that 

175 


THE    UNKNOWN 

if  it  had  been  a  human  being  it  would  have  touched  me.  For 
the  moment  it  obstructed  my  view  of  the  landscape  and  the 
objects  round  me.  I  could  not  see  completely  the  outline  of 
this  phantom,  but  I  saw  its  lips  move  and  murmur  some- 
thing. Its  eyes  were  fixed  on  mine  with  an  expression  so 
intense  and  so  severe  that  I  drew  back  and  walked  backward. 
I  said  to  myself  instinctively,  and  probably  aloud :  '  Good 
Heavens  !  It  is  Harrison  V  though  I  had  not  thought  of  him, 
up  to  that  moment,  the  least  in  the  world.  After  a  few 
seconds,  which  to  me  seemed  an  eternity,  the  spectre  disap- 
peared. I  stood  nailed  to  the  spot  for  a  few  moments,  and 
the  strange  sensation  I  experienced  is  the  strongest  proof  to 
me  of  the  reality  of  the  vision.  I  felt  my  blood  freeze  in  my 
veins.  My  nerves  were  calm,  but  I  felt  a  sensation  of  deadly 
cold,  which  lasted  over  an  hour,  and  which  quitted  me  at 
length  by  slow  degrees  as  circulation  was  restored.  I  have 
never  felt  any  sensation  like  it,  either  before  or  since.  I  did 
not  speak  of  what  had  happened  to  the  ladies  on  getting  back 
to  the  house,  being  afraid  of  frightening  them,  and  the  dis- 
agreeable impression  wore  off  after  a  while. 

**I  said  that  the  house  was  near  the  great  London  road.  It 
stood  in  the  middle  of  the  property,  with  a  lane  on  one  side 
of  it  leading  to  the  village.  It  was  two  or  three  hundred 
yards  from  any  other  dwelling.  There  was  an  iron  railing, 
seven  feet  high,  before  the  front  of  the  house  to  protect  it 
from  tramps.  The  gates  are  always  shut  at  nightfall.  A 
gravel  walk,  thirty  feet  long,  leads  from  the  front  door  to 
the  highway.  That  day  the  evening  was  beautiful,  very 
clear,  and  very  quiet.  Nobody  could  have  approached  the 
house  in  the  stillness  of  a  summer  night  without  being  dis- 
tinctly heard  from  a  distance.  Besides,  there  was  a  great 
watch-dog  guarding  the  front  door,  and  in  the  house  a  little 
terrier  who  barked  at  everybody  and  at  every  noise.  We 
were  about  to  go  to  our  bedchambers,  but  were  all  sitting  to- 
gether in  the  drawing-room  on  the  ground  floor,  and  the  lit- 
tle terrier  was  with  us.  The  servants  had  gone  to  sleep  in 
a  room  at  the  back,  about  sixty  feet  from  where  we  were. 

'*  Suddenly  at  the  front  door  there  was  a  noise,  so  loud  and 

176 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

so  persistent  (the  door  seemed  to  be  shaken  in  its  supports 
and  to  vibrate  under  such  formidable  blows)  that  we  were  all 
on  our  feet  in  a  moment,  full  of  astonishment,  and  the  ser- 
vants arrived  half-clothed,  having  come  down  from  their 
room  in  haste  to  learn  what  was  going  ou. 

"  We  all  ran  to  the  door,  but  we  saw  and  heard  nothing. 
The  terrier,  quite  contrary  to  his  custom,  trembled  and  hid 
himself  under  the  sofa,^  and  would  neither  stay  by  the  front 
door  nor  go  into  the  darkness.  Tliere  was  no  knocker  on 
the  door — nothing  that  would  have  fallen — and  it  was  impos- 
sible for  any  one  to  have  approached  the  house  or  to  have  left 
it  in  the  great  silence  without  being  heard.  Everybody  was 
silent,  and  I  had  great  dijBficulty  in  making  our  hosts  and 
their  servants  go  back  to  bed. 

"  I  was  so  unimpressionable  a  person  that  at  first  I  never 
thought  of  connecting  this  noise  with  the  appearance  of  the 
phantom  I  had  seen  that  afternoon.  I  went  to  bed  myself, 
thinking  over  all  that  had  taken  place,  and  trying  to  find  an 
explanation. 

'*  I  stayed  in  the  country  until  Wednesday  morning,  having 
no  idea  of  what  had  happened  at  home  during  my  absence. 
That  morning,  when  I  returned  to  town,  I  went  to  my  office, 
11  King's  road,  Gray's  Inn.  My  employer  came  to  me  at 
once  and  said  to  me:  'A  gentleman  has  been  here  two  or 
three  times  to  ask  for  you.  He  wants  to  see  you  immedi- 
ately.' The  visitor  was  Mr.  Chadwick,  an  intimate  friend  of 
the  Harrison  family.  He  told  me,  to  my  great  surprise: 
*  There  has  been  a  terrible  epidemic  of  cholera  on  the  Wands- 
worth Road.  In  Mr.  Harrison's  family  all  are  gone.  Mrs. 
Roscoe  was  taken  ill  Friday,  and  is  dead.  Her  maid  was 
taken  ill  the  same  evening,  and  she  is  dead  too.  Mrs.  Har- 
rison was  taken  down  Saturday  morning,  and  is  dead.  Her 
chambermaid  was  stricken  Sunday,  and  is  dead.  The  cook 
also  was  taken  ill,  but  she  was  removed  from  the  house 
— a  little  more  and  she   also  would  have  died.     Poor  Mr. 


*  We  shall  have  something  to  say  about  dogs.    Why,  by-the-way,  do 
they  announce  a  death  by  howling  ? 

177 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Harrison,  good,  reverend  man,  was  taken  ill  Sunday.  He 
was  very  bad  on  Monday,  and  yesterday  they  removed  him 
from  Wandsworth  Road  to  Jack  Straw^s  Castle,  at  Hampstead, 
for  change  of  air.  He  implored  all  the  people  round  him  , 
Monday  and  yesterday  to  send  for  you,  but  nobody  knew 
where  you  were  to  be  found.  Take  a  cab  at  once  and  come 
with  me  or  you  may  not  find  him  alive.' 

'*I  left  instantly  with  Chadwick,  but  Mr.  Harrison  was 
dead  when  we  arrived.  H.  B.  Garlijstg. 

"12  Westbourne  Gardens,  Folkestone." 

This  is  one  of  our  most  remarkable,  extraordinary,  and 
dramatic  narratives,  notably  as  it  concerns  the  impression 
made  on  many  people  and  on  animals.  We  will  speak  of  it 
again  when  we  come  to  a  general  discussion  of  causes.  Here 
are  three  other  cases,  not  less  curious,  of  collective  sensations. 

CLXXVIII.  ''  On  the  night  of  August  20,  1869,  between 
eight  and  nine  o'clock,  I  was  sitting  in  my  chamber  in  my 
mother's  house,  at  Devonport.  My  nephew,  a  boy  seven  years 
old,  was  in  bed  in  the  next  room.  I  was  surprised  to  have  him 
run  suddenly  into  my  chamber  crying  out,  in  a  frightened 
voice,  '  Oh,  auntie,  I  have  just  seen  my  father.  He  walked 
round  my  bed!'  I  answered,  'What  nonsense!  You  were 
dreaming.'  He  replied  that  he  had  not  dreamed  at  all,  and 
insisted  that  he  would  not  go  back  into  that  chamber.  Seeing 
that  I  could  not  persuade  him,  I  let  him  get  into  my  bed. 
Between  ten  and  eleven  I  went  to  bed  myself.  About  an 
hour  later  I  saw  distinctly  beside  the  hearth  the  form  of  my 
brother  sitting  in  a  chair,  and  what  struck  me  most  was  the 
deathly  paleness  of  his  face.  My  nephew  at  this  moment 
was  fast  asleep.  I  was  so  frightened  (my  brother  was  at  Hong- 
Kong)  that  I  hid  my  face  under  the  bedclothes.  A  short 
time  after  I  distinctly  heard  his  voice  calling  me  by  name. 
The  name  was  repeated  three  times.  Then  I  resolved  to  look 
again,  but  he  was  gone. 

"  The  next  morning  I  told  my  mother  and  my  sister  what 
had  happened,  and  I  made  a  memorandum  of  the  date.  The 
next  mail  that  came  from  China  brought  ufe  the  sad  news  of 

178 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

my  brother's  death.  It  had  taken  place  on  the  21st  of  August, 
1869,  in  the  harbor  of  Hong-Kong.  It  was  sudden,  and  was 
caused  by  isolation.  Min'NIE  Cox. 

"  Summer  Hill,  Queenstown,  Ireland." 

CLXXIX.  '^  A  friend  of  mine,  an  officer  in  a  regiment  of 
Highlanders,  had  been  badly  wounded  in  the  knee  at  the 
battle  of  Tel-el-Kebir.  His  mother  was  one  of  our  best 
friends,  and  when  the  hospital  ship  Carthage  brought  him  to 
Malta,  she  sent  me  on  board  to  see  him,  and  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  his  disembarkation.  When  I  got  on  board  they 
told  me  that  his  was  one  of  the  worst  cases,  so  that  it  might 
be  dangerous  to  transport  him  to  the  military  hospital.  After 
many  efforts,  his  mother  and  I  obtained  permission  to  visit 
him  and  comfort  him.  The  poor  fellow  was  so  ill  that  the 
doctors  thought  he  would  die  if  they  attempted  an  operation, 
which  was  the  only  chance  of  saving  him.  His  leg  was  be- 
ginning to  show  gangrene ;  some  parts  were  sloughing  away, 
and  as  he  continued  to  linger,  sometimes  better,  sometimes 
worse,  the  doctors  began  to  think  he  might  possibly  recover 
a  certain  degree  of  health,  but  in  that  case  he  would  remain 
lame  all  his  life,  and  would  probably  die  of  consumption. 

"  On  the  night  of  January  4, 1886,  we  looked  for  no  sudden 
change,  and  his  mother  took  me  home  with  her,  that  I  might 
get  a  night's  rest,  for  I  was  much  worn  out,  and  my  health 
was  not  good  enough  to  stand  so  long  a  strain.  He  had  been 
for  some  hours  in  a  sort  of  lethargic  state,  and  the  doctor  said 
that  as  this  was  due  to  the  influence  of  morphine  he  would 
probably  sleep  till  the  next  morning.  I  consented  to  go,  re- 
solving to  be  back  at  daybreak,  so  that  he  might  find  me  be- 
side him  on  awaking. 

"  About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  my  eldest  son,  who 
slept  in  my  chamber,  woke  me  by  crying  out,  '^  Mamma  ! 
mamma !  There  is  Mr.  B. !'  I  started  up  at  once.  It  was 
perfectly  true.  The  form  of  Mr.  B.  was  floating  through  the 
chamber,  about  half  a  foot  above  the  floor  (o™,  15),  and  he 
disappeared  through  the  window,  smiling  at  me.  He  was  in 
his  night-clothes  ;.^but,  strange  to  say,  his  wounded  foot — the 

179 


THE    UNKNOWN 

toes  of  which  had  dropped  off  from  gangrene — was  exactly 
like  the  other  foot  now.  We  remarked  this  simultaneously, 
my  son  and  I.  About  half  an  hour  afterwards  a  man  came  to 
tell  me  that  Mr.  B.  had  died  at  three  o'clock.  I  then  went 
to  his  mother,  who  had  remained  beside  him,  and  who  told 
me  how  it  had  occurred.  He  had  partly  recovered  conscious- 
ness before  his  death.  'He  took  my  hand,'  she  said,  'in  his 
and  pressed  it,  as  he  did  that  of  the  hospital  steward,  who 
stayed  by  him  to  the  end.'    I  shall  never  forgive  myself  for 

having  gone  home  that  night. 

"Eugenia  Wickham.'' 

Mrs.  Wickham's  son,  a  boy  nine  years  old  at  the  time  of 
this  event,  added  this  certificate : 

*'  I  perfectly  remember  that  things  happened  just  as  they 
are  told  above.  Edmund  Wickham." 

The  husband  of  Mrs.  Wickham,  a  lieutenant-colonel  of  ar- 
tillery, also  writes  that  he  can  certify  the  exactness  of  this 
story. 

We  will  conclude  these  telepathic  observations  by  the  fol- 
lowing, which  has  also  two  witnesses.* 

CLXXX.  ''During  the  winter  of  1850-51,  I,  Charles 
Matthews,  being  twenty-five  years  old,  was  maitre  d'hdtel  to 
General  Morse  at  Troston  Hall,  near  Bury  Saint  Edmunds. 
My  mother,  Mary  Anne  Matthews,  was  in  the  same  house  as 
cook  and  housekeeper.  She  was  a  very  upright  and  concien- 
tious  woman,  liked  by  all  the  servants,  except  one  chamber- 
maid, named  Susan.  This  Susan  made  herself  disagreeable 
to  them  all  by  her  tale-beaiing  and  her  ill-nature,  but  she  was 
very  much  afraid  of  my  mother,  whose  just,  firm  character 
awed  her. 

^Our  examples  of  collective  impressions  are  numerous.  See  I., 
XV.,  XXXV.,  XL.,  XLVn.,  XLVin.,  lv.,  lvh.,  lxix.,  lxxvl, 
Lxxvni.,  Lxxxni,  xciii.,  xcv.,  cxxni,  cxxxi.,  cxxxii., 

CXXXV.,  CXXXIX.,  CXLIV.,  CXLV.,  CLH.,  CLIV.,  CLVH.,  CLXL, 
CLXVI,  CXXVII.,  and  these  three  last  ones 

180 


OF    TELEPATHIC    COMMUNICATIONS 

''  Susan  had  the  jaundice.  For  some  months  she  was  taken 
care  of  at  Troston  Hall,  but  finally  she  was  sent  to  the  hospi- 
tal at  Bury  Saint  Edmunds,  at  the  expense  of  General  Morse, 
and  put  into  the  ward  set  apart  for  servants.  She  died  there 
a  week  after  her  admission.  The  General  sent  a  woman  from 
the  village  over  to  the  hospital,  which  was  seven  miles  off, 
every  day  that  the  carriage  did  not  go  into  Bury  Saint  Ed- 
munds, to  hear  how  the  girl  was.  On  a  certain  Saturday  the 
woman  went,  and  she  did  not  get  back  until  Sunday  evening. 
She  then  said  that  she  had  found  Susan  unconscious,  and  that, 
as  her  death  was  approaching,  she  was  permitted  to  stay  in  the 
ward  till  the  end. 

**  During  that  Saturday  night  the  mysterious  things  that  I 
have  to  relate  took  place.     They  have  always  puzzled  me. 

**  I  was  asleep,  when  suddenly  I  was  roused  up  wide  awake, 
with  a  strange  feeling  of  terror.  I  stared  into  the  darkness, 
but  saw  nothing.  I  felt  myself  a  prey  to  unnatural  fright, 
and  I  hid  my  head  under  the  bedclothes.  The  door  of  my 
chamber  opened  on  a  narrow  passage  which  led  to  the  cham- 
ber of  my  mother's,  and  all  the  people  who  passed  along  that 
passage  brushed  against  my  door.  I  slept  no  more  that  night. 
In  the  morning  I  met  my  mother  and  saw  at  once  that  she 
seemed  to  be  sick;  she  was  pale  and  seemed  greatly  agitated. 
I  said:  ^What's  the  matter  ?'  She  answered,  'Nothing — don't 
ask  me.' 

**An  hour  or  two  had  elapsed,  and  I  caw  clearly  that 
something  was  wrong.  I  resolved  to  know  what  it  was.  My 
mother,  on  her  part,  refused  to  speak.  At  last  I  said:  'Has 
it  anything  to  do  with  Susan?'  She  burst  into  tears  and  re- 
plied: 'Why  do  you  ask?' 

"Then  I  told  her  about  my  fright  during  the  night,  and 
she  in  return  told  me  the  following  story : 

*'  'I  was  awakened,'  she  said,  'by  hearing  my  door  open. 
To  my  great  terror,  Susan  entered  in  her  night-gown.  She 
came  straight  to  my  bed  and  lifted  the  bedclothes  and  lay 
down  beside  me.  I  felt  a  chill  like  ice  all  down  the  side 
where  she  touched  me.  Very  much  frightened,  I  think  I 
must  have  fainted,  for  I  remember  nothing  more  that  passed. 

181 


THE    UNKNOWN 

When  I  regained  my  senses  she  was  not  there.  But  I  am 
sure  of  one  thing,  and  that  is  that  it  toas  7iot  a  dream.' 

"  We  learned  from  the  woman  of  the  village,  when  she  got 
home  at  last,  that  Susan  had  died  in  the  middle  of  the  night, 
and  in  her  last  moments  she  spoke  all  the  time  of  going  back 
to  Troston  Hall.  We  none  of  us  expected  her  death.  We 
thought  she  had  gone  to  the  hospital,  not  because  she  was  in 
any  danger,  but  to  undergo  some  special  treatment. 

^'  These  are  the  facts,  as  well  as  I  can  report  them.  I  am 
neither  credulous  nor  superstitious,  but  I  have  never  been 
able  to  satisfy  my  mind  as  to  the  how  and  the  why  of  this 
stransre  inci^l^rt-.  ChauLfs  Matthews. 

*'  9  iliuudioia  Place,  Clareuce  Gate,  Regent's  Park,  Loudon." 


CHAPTER  IV 

ADMISSIOIT    OF    FACTS 

"  There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  Horatio, 
Than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy. " 

— Shakespeare.     Hamlet,  Act  1,  Scene  5. 

I  HAVE  now  recorded  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  manifesta- 
tions of  the  dying  (and  I  have  many  more  as  yet  nnpnhlished). 
Is  it  possible  for  any  one,  after  having  read  them  conscien- 
tiously and  without  prejudice,  to  see  in  them  nothing  but 
inventions,  made-up  stories,  or  hallucinations  with  fortuitous 
coincidences  ? 

A  pure  and  simple  negation  cannot  be  accepted  in  this  case. 
No  doubt  we  are  dealing  with  the  extraordinary,  the  unknown, 
the  anexplained.  But  negation  is  not  solution.  It  appears 
to  as  to  be  more  scientific  to  try  to  account  for  these  phenom- 
ena than  to  disbelieve  them  without  examination. 

To  explain  them  is  more  difficult.  As  we  said  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  book,  our  senses  are  imperfect  and  deceitful,  and 
perhaps  they  will  in  this  case  never  reveal  to  us  the  true  re- 
ality any  more  than  they  have  done  in  others. 

These  narratives  have  been  carefully  selected  from  among 
a  number  of  others.  Eeaders  anxious  to  take  account  of  the 
nature  and  variety  of  these  manifestations,  and  who  have  read 
them  with  interest,  will  have  understood  that  our  object  in 
publishing  so  large  a  number  has  been  to  establish  the  fact 
that  they  are  by  no  means  so  rare  or  so  exceptional  as  people 
imagine,  and  also  because  their  value  increases  perceptibly  in 
proportion  to  their  number. 

It  will  be  remarked  that  in  all  these  cases  the  details  have 
been  given  as  circumstantially  as  possible,  and  that  there  haa 

183 


THE    UNKNOWN 

been  no  question  in  them  of  subjective  hallucinations,  which 
for  the  most  part  are  often  doubtful,  uncertain,  and  above  all 
anonymous.  I  have  an  unconquerable  horror  of  all  that  is 
anonymous.  And  I  have  never  been  able  to  understand — I 
never  shall  understand — why  any  one  has  not  the  courage  of 
his  opinions,  and  why,  if  a  person  has  in  his  possession  an  in- 
teresting observation  that  may  serve  to  increase  our  knowl- 
edge— be  it  ever  so  little — dares  not  sign  an  account  of  it,  for 
fear  of  compromising  himself,  or  of  displeasing  influential 
friends,  or  in  dread  of  ridicule,  or  for  self-interest,  for  super- 
stitious prejudice,  or  for  any  other  reason  whatever. 

I  renew  my  thanks  to  all  the  persons  who  have  sent  me 
their  observations,  and  I  have  taken  all  possible  care  to  dis- 
creetly carry  out  their  expressed  wishes.  We  have  already 
said  that  there  is  at  least  one  person  in  twenty  who  has  him- 
self experienced,  or  has  known  somebody  who  has  expe- 
rienced, manifestations  of  this  kind.  This  makes  an  average 
not  to  be  neglected.  In  general,  people  do  not  tell  stories  of 
this  kind  unless  they  are  asked  to  do  so — and  not  then  al- 
ways! 

The  question  now  before  us  is  this.  What  is  the  real  value 
of  these  narratives  ?  For  their  quantity  alone  will  not  deter- 
mine their  value.  Their  quality  must  be  a  coefficient.  Our 
analysis  must  have  relation  to  their  quality  as  well  as  their 
quantity.  That  they  have  been  invented — cut  out  of  the 
whole  cloth — to  mystify  friends  and  relations  to  whom  they 
were  told  in  the  first  instance,  is  an  hypothesis  which  cannot 
be  seriously  maintained,  but  we  will  begin  by  getting  it  out 
of  the  way.  In  some  of  the  cases  reported  there  are  several 
witnesses ;  in  others  the  person  reporting  them  was  so  much 
impressed  that  he  experienced  an  illness.  The  first  expe- 
riences I  have  related  were  vouched  for  by  persons  whose  sin- 
cerity I  am  as  sure  of  as  I  am  of  my  own.  The  letters  which 
follow  have  all  the  marks  of  good  faith.  I  have  contrived  to 
verify,  by  various  means,  about  one-tenth  of  them,  and  my 
inquiries  have  always  resulted  in  confirming  the  truth  of  the 
recitals,  except  perhaps  in  some  insignificant  details. 

These  narratives,  indeed,  are  not  different  from  those  that 

184 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

I  received  from  persons  I  have  known  a  long  time.  The 
class  of  hoaxers  and  *' smokers^'  is  rare  among  those  who  are 
telling  of  the  death  of  a  near  relation,  a  father,  mother,  wife, 
husband,  or  child.  These  are  sorrows  that  people  seldom 
laugh  over.  Men  do  not  make  jokes  upon  such  subjects. 
Besides,  sincerity  has  its  own  accent.  Le  style  c'est  Vhomme, 
says  Buffon. 

My  relations  with  these  correspondents  is  the  same  as  it  is 
with  those  who  send  me  constantly,  from  all  parts  of  the  globe, ' 
observations  they  have  made  in  astronomy  and  meteorology. 

When  somebody  writes  me  that  he  has  observed  an  eclipse, 
an  occultation  or  a  meteor,  shooting-stars,  a  comet,  a  vari- 
tion  in  Mars  or  Jupiter,  an  aurora  borealis,  an  earthquake,  a 
singular  case  of  thunder  and  lightning,  a  lunar  rainbow,  etc., 
I  begin  by  crediting  him  with  good  faith  and  sincerity ;  but 
tliat  does  not  prevent  me  from  carefully  examining  his  com- 
munication and  forming  my  own  judgment  upon  it.  Peo- 
ple may  tell  me  that  the  cases  are  by  no  means  the  same,  for 
that  an  astronomical  or  meteorological  observation  may  be 
made  at  the  same  time  by  different  persons,  which  puts  a  sort 
of  check  on  the  report  made  by  one.  Of  course.  But  as  to  the 
opinion  I  may  hold  of  the  sincerity  of  the  observer,  the  cases 
are  exactly  alike.  I  accept  his  fact  subject  to  its  relation 
to  other  facts  subject  to  the  right  of  free  examination. 
In  cases  of  telepathy  and  others,  the  same  human  beings  are 
concerned,  the  same  intellectual  faculties  are  brought  into 
play,  and  I  believe  that  those  who  address  me  are  in  their 
normal  state  of  mind,  which  is  proved  by  the  reflections  they 
make  themselves.  A  priori  I  have  no  moi'e  reason  to  mistrust 
a  savanty  a  professor,  a  magistrate,  a  priest,  a  Protestant 
pastor,  a  manufacturer,  or  an  agriculturist,  when  he  relates 
to  me  a  psychical  experience  than  when  he  sends  me  a  physi- 
cal observation.  Nevertheless,  as  these  facts  are  more  rare 
and  less  easy  of  belief,  our  standard  of  admission  must  be 
more  severe,  and  I,  for  my  part,  began  by  verifying  a  large 
number  by  collecting  information  about  them  and  making 
inquiries  about  these  writers,  which  almost  invariably  re- 
sulted in  confirming  purely  and  simply  the  relations  I  had 

185 


THE    UNKNOWN 

received.  The  same  thing  has  been  done  by  the  Society  for 
Psychical  Research  in  London.  In  spite  of  some  small  vari- 
ations in  the  recitals,  and  certain  lapses  of  memory,  one  may 
always  feel  convinced  that  the  main  fact  is  real,  and  not 
apocryphal. 

But  if  impostors  are  rare,  the  victims  of  illusion  are  numer- 
ous. They  are  legion  in  this  order  of  things.  We  have  set 
forth  in  our  second  chapter  the  extent  of  human  credulity. 
And  the  style  in  which  the  credulous  and  the  fanatical  write 
is  very  characteristic. 

Another  objection,  more  tenable,  is  this  :  to  think  that  the 
fact  at  the  bottom  may  be  true,  but  that  the  things  observed 
concerning  it  have  been  arranged  and  amplified,  probably 
with  all  the  good  faith  to  fit  the  framework  of  the  events 
themselves.  Such  narratives  would  be  hallucinations,  which 
we  have  brought  forward  only  in  cases  where  a  death  has 
been  coincident;  and  even  then  it  is  possible  that  this  coinci- 
dence may  have  been  uncertain,  the  dying  moment  not  being 
always  precisely  known,  and  when  the  conclusion  of  coinci- 
dence may  have  been  drawn  after  the  fact. 

I  have  examined  and  discussed  this  hypothesis  with  the 
greatest  attention,  and  I  have  found  it  also  insufiicient. 
First,  in  cases  where  I  have  had  it  in  my  power  to  obtain  all 
the  facts,  I  have  been  convinced  that  they  occurred  nearly 
as  the  writers  of  the  narratives  reported  them.  Secondly,  the 
persons  who  describe  them  take  pains  to  state  that  they  were 
in  their  usual  health  ;  that  they  are  not  subject  to  hallucina- 
tions, that  they  have  observed  and  verified  the  facts  with  the 
greatest  coolness,  and  that  they  feel  quite  certain  about 
them.  Thirdly,  I  have  left  out  of  these  records  everything 
that  had  been  felt  or  seen  in  dreams,  and  have  only  dealt 
with  cases  in  which  the  observer  was  fully  awake.  Fourthly, 
I  have  omitted  such  cases  as  might  possibly  be  attributed  to 
imagination,  ante-suggestion,  or  to  other  kinds  of  hallucina- 
tion. 

The  facts  I  here  publish  are  various.  They  have  been 
reported  by  persons  whose  intellectual  and  moral  standards 
are  not  the  same,  by  men  and  by  women  of  all  ages,  by  the 

186 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

indifferent  and  the  sceptical,  as  well  as  by  the  credulous  and 
by  ideologists,  some  come  from  the  north,  some  from  the 
south,  some  from  men  of  the  Latin  race,  and  some  from 
those  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin ;  from  all  countries  and  in  all 
ages.  The  most  severe  critic  cannot  consider  them  of  no  ac- 
count, or  treat  them  as  things  that  never  happened  ;  and  they 
ought  at  least  to  be  taken  into  consideration. 

To  attribute  them  to  hallucination  is  impossible.  We 
know  something  about  hallucinations;  they  have  their  causes. 
(We  will  discuss  them  later.)  Persons  who  experience  them 
are  more  or  less  predisposed  to  them,  and  have  experienced 
several — often  many — in  the  course  of  their  lives.  But  our 
witnesses  here  are  not  of  that  kind,  they  have  observed  a 
psychical  fact,  as  they  would  have  done  a  physical  fact,  and 
have  so  recorded  it. 

If  cases  of  this  kind  had  been  hallucinations,  illusions, 
freaks  of  the  imagination,  there  would  have  been  a  much 
larger  number  of  them  reported  that  had  no  coincidence  with  a 
death  than  with  such  a  coincide7ice. 

Now  it  is  just  the  contrary.  My  inquiries  give  proof  of  it. 
I  requested  people  to  be  so  obliging  as  to  furnish  me  with  all 
kinds  of  cases,  whether  there  was  any  coincidence  with  death 
or  not.  There  are  not  more  than  seven  or  eight  per  cent,  of 
cases  of  apparitions  without  such  coincidence.  The  opposite 
thing  would  have  occurred  had  we  been  dealing  with  hal- 
lucinations. 

We  should  also  be  forced  to  admit  that  the  same  hallucina- 
tions occurred  to  several  persons  at  the  same  time — persons 
hundreds  of  miles  apart  from  each  other. 

It  might  be  objected  that,  nevertheless,  the  cases  report- 
ed may  be  hallucinations  because  only  those  that  are  ac- 
companied by  such  a  coincidence  are  remembered  and  re- 
marked on. 

This  objection  cannot  be  sustained,  for  if  you  see  your 
mother,  father,  husband,  wife,  or  child  appear  to  you  it  is 
impossible  that  such  a  thing  should  not  strike  yon,  even  if  it 
were  not  followed  by  a  coincidence  of  death,  nor  could  you 
fail  to  remember  it. 

187 


THE    UNKNOWN 

All  the  cases  here  reported  occurred  to  persons  wide  awake, 
and  in  their  normal  condition,  as  much  as  you  and  I  are  at  this 
moment.  I  have  taken  care  to  cite  no  case  of  manifestations 
or  apparitions  seen  in  dreams,  and  I  have  acted  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  making  a  methodical  classification,  clear  and  precise, 
of  the  phenomena  that  we  are  about  to  study.  The  study  is 
essentially  scientific,  as  much  so  as  if  it  related  to  astronomy, 
physics,  or  chemistry.  Dreams  during  sleep,  visions  seen  in 
a  state  of  somnambulism  or  hypnotism,  presentiments  or 
things  foreseen,  phenomena  connected  with  what  are  called 
our  "  doubles,"  and  things  or  persons  evoked  by  mediums, 
will  be  treated  of  in  other  chapters.  We  wish  to  commence 
by  the  most  convincingly  reported  facts,  those  easiest  to  ver- 
ify and  to  discuss  in  all  freedom  of  mind. 

We  have  thus  far  only  had  to  do  with  manifestations  from 
the  dying — that  is,  from  persons  still  livifig.  We  will  speak 
later  of  apparitions  of  the  dead,  whose  explanation  is  dif- 
ferent. 

The  last  cases  reported  are  from  the  grand  work.  Phan- 
tasms of  the  Living,  Dublished  in  London,  in  1886,  by  Messrs 
Gurney,  Myers,  &  Podmore,  a  work  in  two  enormous  vol- 
umes of  575  and  733  pages,  containing  the  results  (or  what 
in  French  law  are  called  proces  verhaux)  of  the  inquiries  rig- 
orously made  by  these  three  gentlemen  on  behalf  of  the 
Society  for  Psychical  Research,  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken.  It  is  impossible  to  study  this  collection  without  re- 
ceiving an  impression  that  those  who  now  persist  in  denying 
such  facts  are  like  a  blind  man  who  denies  the  existence  of 
the  sun.  In  this  inquiry  there  are  reports  of  six  hundred 
cases,  arranged  in  the  order  of  which  we  have  spoken.  And 
on  my  own  part  I  have  received  more  than  eleven  hundred, 
whose  authenticity  seems  to  me  equally  beyond  doubt.     We 

^  This  work  appeared  in  French,  in  an  excellent  translation,  published 
in  1891,  by  M.  L.  Marillier,  master  of  conferences  at  the  i^ole  des 
Ilautes  !&tudes,  under  the  inexact  and  misleading  title  of  Hallucinations 
Telepathiques,  which  has  absolutely  no  meaning.  It  seems  to  us  that  the 
learned  and  careful  translator  was  very  badly  inspired  in  making  this 
change.     An  hallucination  is  essentially  a  false  perception — an  illusion. 

188 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

ought,  of  coarse,  to  be  able  in  all  cases  to  verify  their  abso- 
lute precision.  The  agreement  that  strikes  us  between  what 
was  seen,  what  was  heard,  what  was  felt,  and  the  events  re- 
corded, may  possibly  have  been  completed  after  the  event  by 
the  imagination  of  the  narrators,  and  more  or  less  arranged 
to  suit  the  case.  It  would  be  necessary  to  make  minute  in- 
quiries  about  every  observation,  to  take,  in  short,  all  the  pre- 
cautions we  invariably  take  in  our  astronomical  observations, 
or  our  experiments  in  physics  or  chemistry,  and  more,  too,  for 
in  this  case  we  have  something  additional  to  deal  with — a 
human  coefficient,  which  is  by  no  means  ^o  be  overlooked 
or  neglected. 

These  precautions  have  not  always  been  taken  in  such  in- 
quiries, nor  could  they  be,  often  because  of  the  very  nature 
of  their  phenomena,  some  having  relation  to  the  dead,  and 
some  to  sorrows  and  sad  remembrances,  which  could  not  be 
treated  in  the  same  kind  of  way  as  we  did  with  an  experiment 
in  a  laboratory.  Bat  because  some  narratives  may  not  be 
quite  correct  as  to  certain  minor  details,  is  that  any  reason 
to  think  them  of  no  value,  and  to  treat  [Lem  as  if  they  were 
of  no  account  ?    We  do  not  think  so. 

These  observations  are  too  numerous  not  to  be  based  on 
something  real.  And,  besides,  the  wide-spread  belief  among 
all  peoples,  which  associates  these  appearances  with  the  dead, 
can  hardly  be  without  some  foundation.  No  doubt,  if  every 
fact  were  proved  to  be  false,  their  number  would  have  no 
great  value.  But  if  we  reduce  them  to  their  smallest  ex- 
pression there  will  remain  a  substratum  of  truth.  I  should  like 
to  compare  them  to  the  cosmic  character  of  the  Milky  Way. 
Each  of  the  stars  which  make  up  the  Milky  Way  is  smaller 
than  a  star  of  the  sixth  magnitude,  and  is  invisible  to  the 
naked  eye.  It  makes  no  impression  on  the  human  retina. 
Nevertheless,  taken  all  together  the  whole  is  perfectly  visi- 
ble even  to  the  naked  eye,  and  is  one  of  the  beautiful  and 
glorious  things  in  the  starry  heaven.  Even  so  it  is  the 
number  of  these  facts  which  is  an  argument  why  we  should 
not  disregard  them. 

The  great  philosopher,  Emmanuel  Kant,  once  wrote : 

189 


THE    UNKNOWN 

''Philosophy,  who  never  fears  to  compromise  herself  by 
examiaing  all  kinds  of  foolish  questions,  is  often  much  em- 
barrassed when  she  encounters  on  her  march  certain  facts 
she  dares  not  doubt,  yet  will  not  believe  for  fear  of  ridicule. 
This  is  the  case  with  ghost  stories.  In  short,  there  is  no  re- 
proach to  which  philosophy  is  more  sensible  than  that  of 
credulity,  or  the  suspicion  of  any  connection  with  vulgar 
superstitions.  Those  who  cheaply  assume  the  name  of  sa- 
vants, and  insist  on  receiving  the  privileges  due  to  learned 
men,  mock  at  whatever  (being  as  inexplicable  to  the  savant  as 
it  is  to  the  ignorant)  places  both  on  the  same  level.  That  is  why 
ghost  stories  are  always  listened  to  and  well  received  in  private, 
but  pitilessly  disavowed  in  public.  We  may  take  it  for  granted 
that  no  academy  of  science  will  ever  choose  such  a  subject 
for  discussion,  not  because  every  one  of  its  members  is  fully 
persuaded  of  the  silliness  and  falseness  of  all  these  narra- 
tions, but  because  the  law  of  prudence  has  wisely  put  a  limit 
to  the  examination  of  such  questions.  Ghost  stories  will 
always  have  those  who  believe  in  them  in  secret,  and  will 
be  always  received  in  public  with  an  incredulity  of  good 
form. 

"For  my  own  part,  ignorant  as  I  am  of  the  way  in  which 
the  human  spirit  enters  the  world  and  the  ways  in  which  it 
goes  out  of  it,  I  dare  not  deny  the  truth  of  many  of  such 
narratives  that  are  in  circulation.  By  a  reserve,  however, 
which  to  some  may  appear  singular,  I  permit  myself  to  hold 
in  doubt  each  in  particular,  and  yet  to  believe  in  them  when 
all  taken  together.^' 

There  are  three  courses  that  may  be  adopted  concerning 
facts  such  as  we  have  reported ;  absolute  belief  in  all  we  are 
told  or  know  to  be  reported,  absolute  rejection  of  every- 
thing ;  or,  thirdly,  acceptation  of  the  facts  themselves  when 
taken  together,  without  affirming  the  complete  exactness  of 
all  their  details.  It  is  this  conclusion  to  which  I  think  we 
ought  to  come. 

To  deny  everything  would  be  the  height  of  absurdity. 
Unless  we  decline  to  receive  all  human  testimony,  it  does 
not  seem  possible  to  doubt  the  narratives  that  have  been 

190 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

given  above.  There  are  not  many  facts,  historical  or  scientific, 
which  are  affirmed  by  so  many  witnesses. 

To  suppose  that  all  these  persons  had  defective  sight,  had 
been  "hallucinated,"  or  were  *' dupes  of  their  own  imagina- 
tion," is  an  absolutely  untenable  hypothesis,  if  we  grant  the 
coincidence  of  deaths. 

On  the  other  hand,  that  which  seems  to  establish  their 
truth  is  the  abundance  of  circumstantial  details  that  often 
characterize  them ;  besides  this,  the  apparitions  corresponded 
exactly  to  subsequently  ascertained  facts.  They  show  a 
wound,  a  shot,  a  spear  thrust,  a  split  skull,  a  corpse  at  the 
bottom  of  a  pit,  a  body  stretched  upon  a  beach,  a  man 
drowned,  a  man  hung,  the  sound  of  a  well-known  voice,  the 
style  of  wearing  the  hair,  some  especial  garment,  an  attitude, 
and  the  date  of  a  death  differing  from  that  in  the  official 
announcement,  etc.  I  know  very  well,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  we  must  receive  with  some  doubt  all  human  testimony; 
that  after  a  few  days  the  clearest  events  are  often  related 
differently  by  different  persons,  that  the  history  of  nations  and 
the  biographies  of  men  are  for  the  most  part  false.  But,  after 
all,  we  must  take  the  human  race  as  we  find  it,  and,  without 
expecting  certainty,  admit  the  relative  and  the  probable. 
We  cannot  doubt  that  Louis  XIV.  revoked  the  Edict  of 
Nantes,  or  that  the  remains  of  Napoleon  lie  under  the  dome 
of  the  Invalides. 

For  our  own  part,  we  consider  the  facts  now  before  us  such 
as  cannot  be  denied — at  least,  if  we  take  them  all  together, 
no  unprejudiced  mind  can  refuse  to  admit  them. 

The  principal  objection,  the  only  one  that  still  remains  for 
us  to  consider,  is  that  which  attributes  these  things  to  chance — 
that  is,  to  fortuitous  coincidences.  People  say  to  themselves, 
''Oh  !  well — yes — some  one  saw  or  heard  such  and  such  a 
thing,  and  well ! — a  parent,  a  near  relative,  died  at  the  same 
moment,  but  it  was  all  chance." 

By  limiting  ourselves  to  a  coincidence  of  twelve  hours,  be- 
fore or  after  the  manifestation  (in  general,  the  coincidence  is 
much  nearer),  we  may  remark  that  the  average  of  annual 
human  deaths  is  twenty-two  out  of  a  thousand  persons.     In 

191 


THE    UNKNOWN 

a  period  of  twenty-four  hours  it  is  365  times  less — that  is  to 
say,  it  averages  22  in  365,000,  or  1  in  16,591.  There  are, 
therefore,  16,591  chances  to  1  that  the  coincidence  would 
not  happen  on  the  same  day.  This  calculation  is  based  upon 
a  general  average  ;  but  if  we  take  only  young  persons  or  those 
in  the  full  strength  of  their  age,  the  proportion  would  rise 
to  eighteen  thousand,  nineteen  thousand,  twenty  thousand. 

Now  apparitions  without  coincidence,  not  being  twenty 
thousand  times,  nor  ten  thousand  times,  nor  five  thousand 
times,  nor  a  thousand  times,  nor  a  hundred  times,  nor  even 
ten  times  more  numerous  than  apparitions  with  coincidences, 
being  indeed  not  equal,  not  half,  nor  a  quarter,  nor  possibly  a 
tenth  of  the  manifestations  that  have  been  verified,  we  may  con- 
clude that  this  shows  a  relation  of  cause  and  effect. 

We  are  not  denying  chance,  or  fortuitous  coincidences. 
What  we  call  chance,  that  is  to  say,  something  unknown  to 
us  in  the  forces  at  work,  leads  sometimes  to  real  coincidences 
that  are  truly  extraordinary.  I  will  mention  a  few  that  are 
very  remarkable. 

During  the  time  I  was  writing  my  great  book  on  the 
atmosphere,  I  was  busy  with  the  chapter  on  the  force  of  the 
wind,  and  I  was  comparing  several  curious  examples  when 
the  following  thing  took  place: 

My  study  in  Paris  is  lighted  by  three  windows,  one  looks 
east  on  the  Avenue  de  TObservatoire,  another  southeast  to- 
wards the  Observatory,  the  third  to  the  south  on  to  the  Eue 
Cassini.  It  was  the  middle  of  summer.  The  first  window 
was  open,  looking  on  the  chestnut-trees  of  the  avenue.  The 
sky  was  clouded;  the  wind  rose,  and  suddenly  the  third  win- 
dow, which  must  have  been  badly  fastened,  was  violently 
blown  open  by  a  gale  from  the  southwest,  which  disarranged 
all  my  papers,  and  lifting  the  loose  pages  I  had  just  written, 
carried  them  off  in  a  sort  of  whirlwind  among  the  trees.  A 
moment  after  the  rain  came,  a  regular  downpour. 

To  go  down  and  hunt  for  my  pages  would  seem  to  me  to 
be  time  lost,  and  I  was  very  sorry  to  lose  them. 

What  was  my  surprise  to  receive,  a  few  days  later,  from 
Lahure's  printing-office,  in  the  Rue  de  Fleurus,  about  half  a 

192 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

mile  away  from  where  I  lived,  that  very  chapter  printed 
without  one  page  missing. 

Remember,  it  was  a  chapter  on  the  strange  doings  of  the 
wind. 

What  had  happened  ? 

A  very  simple  thing. 

The  porter  of  the  printing-office,  who  lived  near  the  Obser- 
vatory, and  who  brought  me  my  proof-sheets  as  he  went  to 
breakfast,  when  going  back  to  his  office  noticed  on  the  ground, 
sodden  by  the  rain,  the  leaves  of  my  manuscript.  He  thought 
he  must  have  dropped  them  himself,  and  he  hastened  to  pick 
them  up,  and,  having  arranged  them  with  great  care,  he  took 
them  to  the  printing-office,  telling  no  one  of  the  affair. 

A  little  more,  and  some  credulous  person  might  have  as- 
serted that  it  was  the  wind  that  had  brought  them  to  the 
printing-office. 

Here  is  another  instance  not  less  singular. 

I  promised  a  priest  who  blessed  my  marriage  (in  return 
for  a  dispensation  that  he  procured  for  me  in  spite,  as  it  ap- 
peared,  of  a  somewhat  severe  ecclesiastical  regulation)  to  take 
him  with  me  in  a  balloon.  I  should  say  that  instead  of  tak- 
ing a  train  for  our  wedding  journey,  we  had  decided  to  go  by 
air.  About  ten  days  after  the  ceremony  we  started,  with 
Jules  Godard  for  our  aeronaut,  after  having  sent  notice  to  the 
abhe,  who,  unluckily,  by  a  provoking  combination  of  circum- 
stances, had  been  obliged  to  leave  Paris  to  pass  a  few  days  at 
a  little  hermitage  he  owned  on  the  banks  of  the  Marne;  con- 
sequently he  had  not  received  my  note,  which  remained  at  his 
rooms  in  Paris  waiting  for  his  return.  Not  seeing  the  abbe  ar 
rive  at  the  gas-house  at  the  hour  fixed  for  our  departure,  I  was 
rather  glad  that  our  Journey,  being  incognito,  would  pass  un- 
noticed, and  I  thought  I  could  keep  my  promise  to  my  friend 
another  time.  I  desired,  especially,  not  to  bring  him  into 
trouble.  There  are  a  number  of  directions  in  which  one  may 
leave  Paris  in  a  balloon.  Now  our  aerial  ship  took  a  course 
directly  across  the  Marne,  and  precisely  over  the  property  of 
the  abbe,  who  was  sitting  at  table  in  his  garden,  and  who, 
seeing  the  balloon  floating  slowly  over  his  head,  fancied  I  had 
N  193  , 


THE    UNKNOWN 

come  to  find  him.  He  shouted  to  me,  begging  me  to  de- 
scend, and  felt  the  greatest  disappointment  when  he  found 
we  were  proceeding  on  our  journey.  Had  some  devil  had  us 
in  charge  he  could  not  have  done  the  thing  better.  But 
there  nevertheless  was  nothing  in  it  but  the  direction  of  the 
wind. 

Emile  Deschamps,  a  distinguished  poet,  somewhat  over- 
looked in  these  days,  one  of  the  authors  of  the  libretto  of  the 
"  Huguenots,''  tells  of  a  curious  series  of  fortuitous  coinci- 
dences as  follows : 

In  his  childhood,  being  at  a  boarding-school  at  Orleans,  he 
chanced  to  find  himself  on  a  certain  day  at  table  with  a 
M.  de  Fortgibu,  an  emigre  recently  returned  from  England, 
who  made  him  taste  a  plum-pudding,  a  dish  almost  unknown 
at  that  time  in  France. 

The  remembrance  of  that  feast  had  by  degrees  faded  from 
his  memory,  when,  ten  years  later,  passing  by  a  restaurant  on 
the  Boulevard  Poissoniere,  he  perceived  inside  it  a  plum- 
pudding  of  most  excellent  appearance. 

He  went  in  and  asked  for  a  slice  of  it,  but  was  informed 
that  the  whole  had  been  ordered  by  another  customer. 
**M.  de  Fortgibu,"  cried  the  dame  du  comptoir,  seeing  that 
Deschamps  looked  disappointed,  *^ would  you  have  the  good- 
ness to  share  your  plum-pudding  with  this  gentleman  ?" 

Deschamps  had  some  difficulty  in  recognizing  M.  de  Fort- 
gibu in  an  elderly  man,  with  powdered  hair,  dressed  in  a 
coloneFs  uniform,  who  was  taking  his  dinner  at  one  of  the 
tables. 

The  officer  said  it  would  give  him  pleasure  to  offer  part  of 
his  pudding  to  the  gentleman. 

Long  years  had  passed  since  Deschamps  had  even  thought 
of  plum-pudding,  or  of  M.  de  Fortgibu. 

One  day  he  was  invited  to  a  dinner  where  there  was  to  be 
a  real  English  plum-pudding.  He  accepted  the  invitation, 
but  told  the  lady  of  the  house,  as  a  joke,  that  he  knew 
M.  de  Fortgibu  would  be  of  the  party,  and  he  caused  much 
amusement  by  giving  the  reason. 

The  day  came,  and  he  went  to  the  house.     Ten  guests 

194 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

occupied  the  ten  places  at  table,  and  a  magnificent  plum- 
pudding  was  served.  They  were  beginning  to  laugh  at 
Deschamps  about  his  M.  de  Fortgibu,  when  the  door  opened 
and  a  servant  announced  : 

*'M.  deFortgibu/' 

An  old  man  entered,  walking  feebly,  with  the  help  of  a 
servant.  He  went  slowly  round  the  table,  as  if  looking  for 
somebody,  and  he  seemed  greatly  disconcerted.  Was  it  a 
vision  ?  or  was  it  a  joke  ? 

It  was  the  time  of  the  Carnival,  and  Deschamps  was  sure  it 
was  a  trick.  But  as  the  old  man  approached  him  he  was 
forced  to  recognize  M.  de  Fortgibu  in  person. 

^'  My  hair  stood  up  on  my  head,'^  he  said.  '^  Don  Juan, 
in  the  chef  cVceuvre  of  Mozart,  was  not  more  terrified  by  his 
guest  of  stone." 

All  was  soon  explained.  M.  de  Fortgibu  had  been  asked 
to  dinner  by  a  friend  who  lived  in  the  same  house,  but  had 
mistaken  the  door  of  his  apartment. 

There  is  really  in  this  story  a  series  of  coincidences  which 
confounds  us,  and  we  can  understand  the  exclamation  of  the 
author  when  the  remembrance  of  a  thing  so  extraordinary 
occurred  to  him  :  ^'  Three  times  in  my  life  have  I  eaten  plum- 
pudding,  and  three  times  have  I  seen  M.  de  Fortgibu  !  A 
fourth  time  I  should  feel  capable  of  anything  ...  or  capa- 
ble of  nothing !" 

Here  is  another  chance  combination  :  At  a  gaming-table 
at  Monte  Carlo,  at  roulette,  the  same  number  came  up  five 
times  running. 

At  this  same  game  of  roulette  the  red  has  been  known  to 
come  up  twenty  -  one  times  in  succession,  and  the  chances 
against  this  were  two  million  to  one.' 

Seldom  does  a  year  pass  in  Paris  without  a  flower-pot  fal]- 

•This  kind  of  number,  coming  up  at  the  first  round,  gives  35  louis  for 
1  louis,  or  700  francs  ;  for  the  second  time,  if  the  previous  sum  has  been 
left  on  the  table,  24,500  francs ;  a  third  time,  in  the  same  way,  would 
give  857,500  francs,  but  the  rules  of  the  bank  will  not  permit  this  ;  they 
fix  the  maximum  of  the  stake  at  9  louis.  The  bank  allows  no  gain 
greater  than  120,000  francs.  , 

195 


THE    UNKNOWN 

ing  from  some  fifth  story  and  killing  outright  some  person 
quietly  walking  along  the  pavement. 

Who,  then,  can  deny  that  there  are  surprising  coinci- 
dences? Yes,  the  little  god,  chance,  sometimes  produces  ex- 
traordinary results,  and  I  am  quite  ready  to  acknowledge  it ; 
but  let  us  at  the  same  time  acknowledge  that  chance  does  not 
explain  everything. 

I  will  now  commit  my  argument  to  the  following  reasoning, 
due  to  Professor  Charles  Eichet,  concerning  chance,  as 
regarded  from  the  point  of  view  of  mathematical  certainty, 
and  moral  certainty  as  well.' 

Chance  may  be  expressed  by  a  figure  which  stands  for 
probability.  Thus  if  in  drawing  a  card  by  chance  out  of  a 
whole  pack  I  draw  the  six  of  hearts,  it  is  chance  which  has 
given  it  to  me,  and  chance  only,  for  I  shall  never  know  (if 
the  cards  were  all  in  suit  and  if  the  pack  had  been  well 
shuffled)  why  I  should  have  drawn  out  the  six  of  hearts  rather 
than  any  other  card. 

It  is  chance,  therefore,  which  gave  me  the  six  of  hearts, 
but  this  chance  can  be  expressed  in  figures.  I  had  in  a  pack 
of  fifty-two  cards  only  one  chance  in  fifty-two  for  drawing  the 
six  of  hearts;  for  drawing  a  six  of  any  suit,  one  chance  in 
thirteen  for  drawing  a  heart,  one  chance  in  four;  and  for 
drawing  a  red  card,  one  chance  in  two.  In  short,  I  had 
fifty-one  chances  out  of  fifty-two  for  not  drawing  any  card 
named  in  advance. 

In  like  manner  I  can  assign  mathematically  to  this  or  that 
event  a  probability  which  can  be  expressed  in  figures.  But 
our  great  difficulty  is  not  in  the  calculation  of  different 
mathematical  problems,  though  that,  if  we  go  further,  may 
prove  at  last  so  difficult  as  to  embarrass  the  greatest  mathe- 
maticians. The  real  difficulty  is  in  applying  mathematical 
laws  to  real  events.  It  is  proved  by  mathematics  that  the 
calculation  of  probabilities  is  only  applicable  if  there  are 
an  infinite  number  of  chances.     It  is  otherwise  not  true. 

1  Relations  de  diverses  experiences  sur  la  transmission  mentale,  etc. 
Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psj^rhical  Reseaicb,  June,  1888. 

'l96 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

Thus:  I  have  a  pack  of  cards  before  me.  I  have  only  one 
chance  in  fifty-two  to  draw  the  six  of  hearts,  and  yet  it  is 
possible  that  I  may  draw  that  card.  There  is  nothing  to 
prevent  it,  and,  at  any  rate,  it  is  as  probable  as  my  drawing  any 
other  card  named  to  me.  This  little  probability  is  not  to  be 
overlooked.  I  should  therefore  be  unreasonable  were  I  to 
conclude  what  might  be  the  result  of  an  experiment  when, 
having  named  beforehand  the  six  of  hearts,  that  was  precisely 
the  card  I  drew.  If,  taking  another  pack  of  cards,  after 
having  well  shuffled  them,  I  want  to  draw  out  again  the  six 
of  hearts,  the  probability  will  be  very  slight  (52x52=^:j-); 
but  it  is  not  impossible.  It  could  be  done,  it  has  been  done, 
and  the  combination  of  one  six  of  hearts,  followed  by  another 
six  of  hearts,  is  as  probable  as  the  combination  of  any  other 
two  cards  of  the  same  kind. 

If  I  take  a  third  pack  of  cards,  then  a  fourth,  and  then  a 
fifth,  I  shall  have,  if  I  still  wish  to  draw  a  six  of  hearts,  proba- 
bilities much  greater  against  me,  for  the  number  of  possible 
combinations  becomes  immense.  But  great  as  they  are,  we 
do  not  reach  impossibility.  It  would  always  be  possible  that 
chance  might  bring  about  the  combination  wanted,  and  that 
combination  would  have  as  many  chances  as  any  other. 

We  should  have  to  reach  the  infinite  to  arrive  at  the  impos- 
sible. In  other  words,  the  certainty  that  I  cannot  draw  the 
six  of  hearts  would  only  happen  if  I  drew  an  indefinite  num- 
ber of  times.  Never  could  I  reach  mathematical  certainty, 
or,  rather,  I  could  only  reach  it  if  I  were  given  the  oppor- 
tunity to  draw  an  infinite  number  of  times. 

If,  then,  mathematical  certainty  is  what  is  wanted,  we  can 
come  to  no  conclusion,  for  it  could  not  be  reached  without 
an  infinite  number  of  trials. 

But,  happily,  in  most  cases  we  can  arrive  at  a  conclusion,  for 
mathematical  certainty  and  moral  certainty  are  two  different 
things. 

Suppose  that  one  day  I  stake  my  honor,  my  life,  the  honor 
and  the  life  of  those  belonging  to  me,  and  all  I  hold  most 
dear.  Of  course  I  can  have  no  mathematical  certainty  that 
out  of  a  hundred  times  that  I  draw,  the  six  of  hearts  will  not 

197 


THE    UNKNOWxY 

/ 

come  ont  a  hundred  times  running.  Mathematically,  and  in 
truth,  tliis  combination  is  possible,  but  nevertheless  I  would 
willingly  consent  to  bet  my  life,  my  honor,  my  fortune,  my 
country,  and  all  I  love,  against  the  probability  that  the  six  of 
hearts  will  not  be  drawn  one  hundred  times  running. 

It  would  not  be  necessary  to  go  as  far  as  a  hundred  draw- 
ings. If  I  drew  the  six  of  hearts  ten  times  running,  inste?4 
of  saying,  ^'  It  is  a  most  surprising  chance,"  I  should  at  once 
suppose  that  there  was  some  cause  for  it  which  I  did  not 
know ;  for  chance  does  not  give  the  same  card  ten  times  in 
succession.  I  should  be  so  entirely  convinced  of  this  that  I 
should  at  once  try  to  find  the  cause.  I  should  look  if  the 
cards  in  the  pack  were  all  alike ;  if  it  were  not  a  trick  played 
on  me  by  a  prestidigitator,  if  in  the  pack  there  were  really 
fifty-two  different  cards,  or  if  each  pack  were  not  composed 
of  fifty-two  of  the  six  of  hearts. 

Let  us  take  a  less  startling  probability.  For  example,  the 
probability  of  drawing  twice  in  succession  the  same  card. 
Even  this  is  a  very  small  probability — one  out  of  2704.  If 
bets  on  it  were  mathematically  laid,  it  would  be  a  bet  of  one 
franc  to  2704  francs  that  the  six  of  hearts  could  not  be  twice 
drawn  in  succession  from  the  same  pack. 

In  fact,  in  our  every-day  life,  that  which  regulates  our  con- 
duct, which  influences  our  convictions  and  our  decisions,  are 
probabilities  much  less  great  than  this  of  ^^ot-  ^  ^^^^ 
thirty-five  years  old,  in  good  health,  who  is  exposed  to  no 
particular  danger,  has  one  chance  in  a  hundred  of  dying  be- 
fore the  end  of  the  year,  and  one  chance  in  three  thousand 
that  he  may  die  within  a  fortnight.  Who  is  there,  however, 
who  does  not  think  he  is  certain  to  live  more  than  two  weeks  ? 
By  comparing  the  chances  of  life  to  the  drawing  out  of  a  cer- 
tain card  from  a  pack,  one  sees  that  the  probability  of  getting 
the  same  card  four  times  running  is  about  equal  to  the  prob- 
ability that  a  man  of  thirty-five,  in  good  health,  and  not  ex- 
posed to  any  especial  danger,  will  not  live  an  hour.  Mathe- 
matically no  one  is  quite  sure  that  he  will  live  an  hour,  but 
morally  he  feels  it  to  be  almost  a  complete  certainty. 

Now  let  us  take  an  example  from  jurymen  trying  a  case  in 

198 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

which  the  penalty  is  death.  With  rare  exceptions  they  have 
no  positive  certainty  that  the  accused  is  guilty,  for  though 
the  probability  of  his  innocence  may  be  ver}-  small,  yet  it  is 
almost  always  greater  than  -g^^T'  So  many  accessory  circum- 
stances might  make  the  verdict  of  guilty  false  !  Perhaps  there 
were  false  witnesses.  Did  the  witnesses  see  clearly?  Was 
the  confession  of  the  accused  a  true  one  ?  Who  knows  but 
there  might  have  been  some  conspiracy  to  ruin  him  ?  There 
may  be  a  quantity  of  unknown  circumstances  which  take 
away  mathematical  certainty  but  leave  the  moral  certainty 
of  the  guilt  of  the  accused  unimpaired. 

Thus  we  are  never  guided  by  mathematical  certainty.  Al- 
ways in  our  daily  life,  even  in  the  most  certain  cases,  it  is 
moral  certainty  that  guides  us.  It  is  sufficient ;  and  we  act 
upon  it,  without  asking  for  more.  Even  the  savant  who 
makes  material  experiments  which  seem  to  have  certain  re- 
sults, ought  to  remember  that  he  cannot  count  on  mathemat- 
ical certainty,  for  things  unknown  to  him  at  the  present 
moment  may  step  in  and  take  away  the  character  of  absolute 
certainty  which  can  only  be  given  by  mathematics. 

It  remains  for  us  to  know  if  we  are  right  when  we  are  con- 
tent to  be  guided  by  strong  probabilities — strong  probabilities 
but  by  no  means  certainties.  Are  we  reckless  when  we  con- 
clude, as  we  do  continually,  that  we  shall  live  more  than  an 
hour,  that  we  shall  not  be  crushed  in  a  railroad  train,  that 
the  prisoner,  whom  a  mass  of  evidently  veracious  testimony 
charges  with  a  crime,  is  guilty,  that  the  determination  of 
three  chemical  or  physical  measures  is  sufficient  to  give  an 
exact  result. 

It  seems  evident  that  we  could  not  live  if  we  had  to  base 
all  our  conduct  upon  certainties.  Nowhere  is  there  certainty ; 
everywhere  there  are  only  probabilities,  and  we  are  right  to 
act  on  them,  for  experience  for  the  most  part  justifies  us  in  so 
doing. 

'^For  my  own  part,"  adds  M.  Richet,  speaking  about 
psychic  influences,  **I  consider  that  the  world-wide  illusion 
on  this  subject  would  be  impossible  if  that  illusion  contained 
no  particle  of  truth.     We  have  no  right  to  exact  for  psychical 

199 


THE    UNKNOWN 

phenomena  stronger  probability  than  we  exact  for  other 
sciences;  and  with  probabilities  above  one  thousand  in  its 
fayor,  we  ought  to  feel  we  have  a  sufficiently  vigorous  demon- 
stration. 

^'  There  are  so  many  facts  inexplicable,  unless  we  admit 
telepathy,  that  we  must  end  by  acknowledging  the  existence 
of  some  action  from  a  distance.  What  matters  about  theory ! 
The  fact  seems  to  me  proved — abundantly  ijroved,'' 

We  assert  that  having  here  collected  all  these  telepathic 
observations,  probability  is  increased,  at  least  so  far  as  mani- 
festations from  the  dying  are  concerned,  to  several  millions, 
in  which  the  coincidence  of  death  has  taken  place  within  an 
hour,  and  when  the  person  who  received  the  manifestation 
had  no  reason  to  think  his  friend  was  in  danger  of  dissolu- 
tion.^ 

'  The  inquiries  of  the  Psychical  Society  of  London  have  led  to  the  fol- 
lowing result  (Dariex,  Ann.  des  Sciences  Psych.,  1891,  p.  300)  : 

There  is  one  visual  hallucination  for  every  two  hundred  and  forty-eight 
persons.  On  looking  into  the  probability  of  a  fortuitous  coincidence  be- 
tween the  death  of  the  agent  (A)  with  the  hallucination  of  the  percipient 
(B)  we  reach  the  following  results  : 

which  shows  that  the  probability  of  real  telepathic  action  is  4,114,545 
times  more  probable  than  the  hypothesis  of  fortuitous  coincidence. 
Fcnir  million  one  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-five 
times  more  probable.     Here  are  figures  which  have  their  own  eloquence. 

We  thus  arrive  at  a  fantastic  probability  if  we  suppose  that  in  all  cases 
the  coincidence  of  the  hallucination  and  the  death  took  place  twelve 
hours  before  or  twelve  hours  after — that  is  to  say,  during  a  lapse  of  time 
of  twenty-four  hours.  But  how  much  more  fantastic  will  this  probability 
become  if  we  take  into  consideration  much  closer  coincidences,  and, 
above  all,  if  we  calculate  the  sum  of  probabilities  in  a  case  where  the  coin- 
cidence immediately  took  place.  Let  us  take,  for  example,  to  show  the 
value  of  this  argument,  the  following  case  recorded  in  the  Phantasms  of 
tlie  Liding. 

Nicholas  S and  Frederick  S ,  both  employed  in  the  same  oflSce, 

had  been  friends  for  eight  years.     They  thought  a  great  deal  of  each 

other.     On  Monday,  March  19,  1883,  w^hen  Frederick  S came  to  the 

office  he  complained  of  having  suffered  from  indigestion.  He  went  to 
consult  a  doctor,  who  told  him  that  his  liver  was  in  a  very  bad  state, 
and  gave  him  some  medicine.     On  I'hursday  he  did  not  seem  to  be  much 

200 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

This  proportion  is  much  larger  than  that  on  which  we  have 
founded  our  reasoning,  and  by  which  we  regulate  our  daily 
lives.  This  is  what  we  call  moral  certainty.  Therefore,  we 
may  conclude  that  the  theory  of  chance,  and  of  fortuitous 


better.  Saturday  he  did  not  come  to  the  office,  and  Nicholas  learned 
that  his  friend  had  been  examined  by  a  physician,  who  advised  him  to 
rest  for  two  or  three  days,  but  did  not  think  anything  serious  was  the 
matter.  This  same  Saturday,  March  24,  towards  evening,  being  seated 
in  his  chamber,  Nicholas  saw  his  friend  standing  before  him,  dressed  as 
usual.  He  particularly  noticed  his  clothes — his  hat  had  a  black  ribbon, 
his  overcoat  was  unbuttoned,  and  he  had  a  cane  in  his  hand,  etc.  The 
spectre  fixed  his  eyes  upon  his  friend,  and  then  disappeared.  This 
recalled  to  the  mind  of  Nicholas  the  words  of  Job  :  "A  spirit  passed 
before  men  and  the  hair  of  my  flesh  stood  up."  At  this  moment  he  felt 
an  icy  chill,  and  his  hair  stood  up  on  his  head.  Then  he  turned  to  his 
wife  and  asked  her  what  time  it  was.  "  Twelve  minutes  to  nine,"  she 
answered.  Then  he  said  :  "The  reason  I  asked  was  that  Frederick  ia 
dead.  Ihave  just  seen  him."  She  tried  to  persuade  him  that  this  was  only 
his  imagination,  but  he  assured  her  that  the  vision  had  been  so  distinctly 
impressed  upon  his  brain  that  no  argument  could  change  his  opinion. 

The  next  day,  Sunday,  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  Frederick's  brother 
came  to  tell  his  friend  of  his  death,  which  happened  the  night  before 
about  nine  o'clock. 

The  wife  of  the  narrator  confirmed  his  testimony  as  follows  : 

"  Last  24th  of  March,  in  the  evening,  I  was  seated  at  a  table  reading  ; 
my  husband  was  sitting  on  a  chair  placed  at  one  corner  of  the  hearth 
against  the  wall.  He  asked  me  what  o'clock  it  was.  When  I  answered  it 
was  twelve  minutes  to  nine,  he  said :  '  The  reason  I  asked  you  is  that 
Frederick  is  dead.  I  have  just  seen  him.'  I  answered:  '  What  nonsense  ! 
You  know  he  is  not  even  ill.  I  assure  you  you  will  see  him  quite  well 
when  you  go  to  the  office  next  Tuesday.'  Nevertheless,  my  husband 
persisted  in  saying  that  he  had  seen  his  friend,  and  was  sure  of  his 
death.  I  then  noticed  that  he  looked  much  troubled  and  was  very 
pale.  Maria  R," 

The  brother  of  the  deceased  also  confirmed  the  story  in  a  letter  agree- 
ing exactly  with  the  two  previous  accounts.  He  further  declares  that 
he  was  the  more  struck  by  the  occurrence  because  he  has  always  been 
opposed  to  such  ideas. 

In  this  remarkable  case  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  death  occurred  dur- 
ing the  twenty-five  minutes  that  passed  between  twenty-five  minutes  to 
nine  and  nine  o'clock.  The  friend  had  his  vision  at  twelve  minutes  to 
nine.     If  the  coincidence  of  the  two  events  is  not  absolute,  it  ia  any- 

201 


THE    UNKNOWN 

coincidences,  will  not  explain  the  facts  observed  and  those 
that  we  have  here  recorded.  It  ought  to  be  eliminated,  and 
w'e  must  admit  that  there  is  between  the  person  dying  and  the 
observer  a  rapport  of  cause  and  effect.  This  is,  indeed,  the 
first  point  that  we  have  to  establish  in  our  scientific  exami- 
nation. Yes,  chance  and  fortuitous  coincidences  do  exist, 
but  they  will  not  explain  these  things.  There  is  a  relation  of 
cause  and  effect  between  the  dying  person  and  the  one  ly  ivhom 
the  impressions  are  received. 

Apropos  of  a  case,  of  which  we  shall  speak  later,  cited  in 
"  Phantasms  of  the  Living,"  M.  Raphael  Chandos  wrote  in 
the  Eevue  des  Deux  MondeSy  1887,  p.  211  : 

'^  We  cannot  suspect  the  good  faith  of  the  narrators,  nor, 
up  to  a  certain  point,  the  correctness  of  their  observations. 
But  is  this  all  that  is  necessary  ?  M.  Bard  saw  near  a  cem- 
etery the  apparition  of  Madame  de  Freville  passing  before 
him  at  the  very  moment  when  Madame  de  Freville,  who  he 
did  not  know  was  ill,  was  dying,  and  people  tell  ns  why  may 


how  not  possible  to  suppose,  even  taking  an  extreme  view  of  the  case, 
that  there  was  an  interval  of  more  than  twelve  minutes. 

We  have  seen  that  the  probability  of  death  during  a  stated  period  of 
twenty-four  hours  is  -ff^Xysr  fo^  ^^  adult  of  any  age,  but  for  men  of 
forty -eight  (which  was  the  age  of  Frederick)  it  is  yVVt-  ^1^^  official 
figures  given  by  the  tables  of  mortality.  We  have,  therefore,  for  the 
probability  of  death  each  day  -^^  x  3^^  =  2  7  0 a  ^  During  a  period  of 
time  of  twelve  minutes,  continued  120  times  in  the  twenty-fours  hours, 
it  would  be  120  limes  less,  that  is  to  say,  rtmy^iris  ^  ihs*  ^°d  instead  of 
the  equation, 

we  shall  have  this  equation, 

In  the  present  case  the  probability  of  telepathic  action,  as  compared 
with  the  probability  of  a  fortuitous  coincidence,  is  in  the  proportion  of 

EIGHT  HUNDRED  AND  FOUR  MILLIONS  SIX  HUNDRED  AND  TWENTY-TWO 
THOUSAND    TWO    HUNDRED   AND    TWENTY-TWO    tO    ONE.      The   faCt  here 

related  is  particularly  precise.  Let  us  logically  add  to  it  the  preceding 
one  numbered  CLXXXI.  I  think  we  ought  to  feel  satisfied  with  a 
probability  of  several  millions,  as  I  have  just  said,  because  we  must  take 
into  account  cases  when  the  person  who  died  was  known  to  be  ill,  and 
his  friends  might  have  been  thinking  of  his  death. 

202 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

not  chance,  which  brings  about  extraordinary  encounters, 
have  brought  this  woman's  form  before  him  in  hallucina- 
tion ? 

^*^In  truth,  this  argument  seems  to  me  a  miserable  one, 
and  much  more  easy  to  refute  than  one  that  supposes  that 
the  observation  may  have  been  incomplete  and  insufficient ; 
but  nevertheless  this  futile  objection  is  the  one  most  com- 
monly brought  forward.  People  say,  '  Oh  !  it  was  only  an 
hallucination/  And  suppose  this  hallucination  coincided 
with  some  real  occurrence  that  was  due  to  a  fortuitous  coin- 
cidence, and  not  because  there  was  between  the  event  and 
the  hallucination  a  relation  of  cause  and  effect/' 

Chance  is  a  very  convenient  little  divinity,  whom  we  can 
always  invoke  in  embarrassing  circumstances.  But  with  this 
case  chance  had  nothing  to  do.  M.  Bard,  in  the  sixty  years 
of  his  life  seems  to  have  had  one  hallucination,  and  only  one, 
that  makes  1  out  of  22,000  chances  a  day  against  such  a 
thing  happening  to  him.  If  we  admit  that  the  coinci- 
dence between  the  time  of  Madame  de  Freville's  death  and 
the  time  of  his  hallucination  is  exact,  that  would  make  (as 
there  are  forty-eight  half-hours  in  a  day)  a  chance  of  about 
one  in  a  million. 

"But  this  is  not  enough.  M.  Bard  might  have  had  other 
hallucinations,  for  he  knows  one  hundred  persons  as  well  as 
he  knew  Madame  de  Freville.  The  probability  of  seeing  on  a 
certain  day  at  a  certain  hour  Madame  de  Freville,  rather  than 
any  other  of  his  friends,  is  therefore  approximately  one  million. 

'^If  I  take  four  analogous  cases  and  put  them  all  four  to- 
gether, the  probability  of  having  four  coincidences  is  not 
more  than  a  hundred  million,  but  a  fraction  whose  numer- 
ator should  be  one  with  a  denominator  that  had  thirty-six 
zeros,  makes  an  absurd  number,  too  great  to  be  grasped  by 
human  intelligence,  and  amounting  to  absolute  certainty. 

"We  will  therefore  set  aside  this  hypothesis  of  chance. 
There  is  no  chance  in  the  case.  If  any  one  insists  there  is, 
we  will  repeat  the  old  experiment  of  throwing  the  alphabet 
into  the  air.  Nobody  will  imagine  that  the  letters  as  they 
fall  will  reproduce  the  entire  Iliad, 

203 


THE    UNKNOWxN 

''Therefore,  neither  the  good  faith  of  observers  can  be 
called  in  question,  nor  can  the  chance  of  extraordinary  for- 
tuitous coincidences  be  invoked.  We  must  admit  that  we 
have  real  facts  to  deal  with.  However  improbable  the  thing 
may  seem,  these  hallucinations  verily  exist,  they  have  now 
gained  a  footing  in  science,  whatever  some  people  may  say, 
and  they  will  stay  there." 

Our  readers  who  have  taken  the  trouble  to  read  all  the 
letters  published  in  these  previous  chapters  will  have  come 
to  the  conclusion,  in  the  first  place,  that  there  are  many  things 
we  do  not  knoiu.  The  domain  of  telepathy  opens  a  new 
world  for  us  to  explore. 

Our  collection  of  facts  taken  in  the  mass  are  incontro- 
vertible.    They  support  each  other. 

In  the  course  of  the  general  discussion  which  took  place  in 
leading  newspapers  all  the  world  over  with  reference  to  my 
supposed  renunciation  of  psychic  investigations,  I  have  sev- 
eral times  seen  the  following  objection  raised  against  re- 
searches in  telepathy.  ''In  order  that  such  facts  may  be 
scientifically  admitted,  we  must  be  able  to  reproduce  them  at 
will ;  as  in  the  case  with  all  other  scientific  facts." 

This  is  an  error  in  reasoning.  These  facts  are  not  in  the 
domain  of  experiment,  but  in  that  of  observation. 

Such  reasoning  amounts  to  this  :  "  I  won't  believe  in  the 
effects  of  lightning  unless  they  can  be  reproduced.  I  won't 
admit  that  there  can  be  an  aurora  borealis  until  I  see  one 
made  before  me;  make  me  a  comet  with  its  fiery  tail  or  an 
eclipse,  or  else  I  don't  believe  in  them." 

This  confusion  between  observation  and  experiment  is  very 
common. 

Our  facts,  we  say,  belong  to  observation,  not  to  experiment. 
We  can  verify  them,  but  we  cannot  reproduce  them.  Their 
study  is  the  same  order  of  study  as  that  of  astronomy,  of 
meteorology,  not  that  of  physics  and  chemistry.  We  observe 
an  eclipse,  a  comet,  an  aerolite,  a  flash  of  lightning,  an  au- 
rora borealis ;  we  make  experiments  in  chemistry,  or  we  ex- 
periment with  any  optical  or  acoustic  phenomenon  ;  the  two 
methods    are    different.     Both  are  scientific,  and   may  be 

204 


ADMISSION    OF    FACTS 

classed  nnder  the  general  title  of  experimental,  since  it  ia 
human  experience  by  which  they  mnst  be  jmlged,  and  not  by 
previous  theories,  ideas,  beliefs,  principles,  or  authorities. 
We  no  longer  submit  to  the  magister  dixit. 

We  often  hear  persons  say,  with  surprise,  that  certain 
things,  more  or  less  burlesque,  inexplicable,  and  incoherent,  oc- 
cur in  these  cases,  while  others,  which  would  seem  more  natu- 
ral and  simple  to  our  childish  knowledge,  are  no*;  produced. 
Why  should  a  heavy  door  close -shut  fly  suddenly  open? 
Why  should  a  great  racket  be  made  in  a  room  ?  Why  should 
a  light  be  seen,  or  a  noise  heard  ?  Why  should  there  be  a 
vision  ?  Science  and  observation  of  the  phenomena  of  nat- 
ure and  of  the  processes  of  manufacture  teach  us,  how- 
ever, to  modify  our  surprise,  and  to  enlarge  the  field  of  our 
conceptions.  Look,  for  example,  at  a  hogshead  of  dyna- 
mite, a  thousand  times  more  terrible  than  gunpowder  in  its 
destructive  power.  Dynamite  is  exceptionally  susceptible, 
and  every  one  remembers  catastrophes  caused  by  the  small- 
est imprudence  in  handling  it.  With  this  hogshead  you 
may  destroy  a  city.  Now  try  to  set  fire  to  this  explosive 
substance,  and  you  will  not  be  able  to  do  so.  You  must  have 
the  detonating  fuse  before  the  explosion  can  set  its  thunder- 
ous effects  at  work.  You  may  light  a  dynamite  cartridge 
with  impunity  if  it  has  not  this  fuse,  and  no  detonation  will 
take  place  ;  the  dynamite  will  burn  up  until  there  is  nothing 
left  of  it.  But  give  it  a  blow  with  a  hammer,  and  a  terrible 
explosion  will  take  place. 

Now  set  a  light  on  the  top  of  a  barrel  of  gunpowder,  light 
the  least  little  match,  seat  yourself  on  the  barrel,  and  then 
see  what  will  happen. 

We  need  not  be  surprised  at  what  seems  singular  to  us  in 
psychic  phenomena. 

We  are  naturally  disposed  to  deny  anything  that  seems  im- 
possible, anything  we  know  nothing  about,  or  what  we  can- 
not understand.  If  we  read  in  Herodotus  or  Pliny  that  a 
woman  had  a  breast  on  her  left  thigh,  and  therewith  suckled 
her  infant,  we  laugh  heartily  at  such  nonsense.  And  yet  a 
similar  fact  was  established  before  the  Academy  of  Science 

205 


THE    UNKNOWN 

in  Paris,  at  its  meeting  June  28,  1827.  If  anybody  tells  us 
that  a  man  after  his  autopsy  was  found  to  contain  a  child  in 
his  interior,  and  we  are  informed  further  that  this  child  was  his 
twin  brother,  inclosed  before  birth  in  his  organism,  that  the 
child  grew  old,  and  even  had  a  beard,  we  look  upon  the 
story  as  a  mere  fable.  Yet  I  saw  myself  not  long  ago  a 
still-born  infant  fifty-six  years  of  age.  Larcher,  a  translator 
of  Herodotus,  writes  thus:  ''To  say  that  Roxana  bore  a 
child  with  no  head  is  an  absurd  assertion,  capable  in  itself 
of  destroying  the  authority  of  Ctesias."  Now  all  medical 
dictionaries  tell  us  in  our  own  day  of  headless  infants.. 
These  instances,  and  many  others  like  them,  suggest  wisdom 
and  prudence.  It  is  only  the  ignorant  who  can  venture  to 
deny  things  without  misgiving. 

We  could  give  more  of  these  examples,  but  it  would  be  of 
no  use.     We  have  cited  sufficient  for  our  readers. 

Let  us  rest  satisfied  with  the  conclusion  that  the  facts 
we  have  reported  can  be,  and  ought  to  be,  admitted  by  the 
experimental  method.  Now  let  us  turn  for  a  moment  to 
"hallucinations,"  whose  existence  we  do  not  doubt;  but 
they  will  not  solve  our  problem,  which  is  based  on  and  con- 
firmed by  precise  and  incontestible  coincidences. 


CHAPTER  V 

HALLUCINATIOI^^S,    PKOPERLY  SO   CALLED 

My  leaders  would  be  in  error  if  they  concluded  from  what 
has  been  written  in  preceding  chapters  that  I  do  not  admit 
that  there  are  hallucinations,  and  that  I  am  not  willing  to 
give  them  the  consideration  that  ought  to  belong  to  them. 
But  I  think  there  are  distinctions  and  definitions  that  ur- 
gently require  first  to  be  made  clear. 

There  are  real  hallucinations — that  is,  illusions,  errors,  false 
sensations.  Some  of  these  are  experienced  by  nervous  peo- 
ple, some  by  persons  in  bad  health  or  greatly  fatigued, 
some  by  persons  out  of  their  minds  ;  but  others  have  been 
experienced  by  those  who  were  perfectly  healthy  both  in 
mind  and  body.  Formerly  doctors  only  admitted  that  the 
former  could  have  such  experiences.  This  was  an  error  of 
ignorance. 

Hallucinations  are  illusions  of  thought  and  brain,  and  it  is 
important  not  to  think  that  they  are  anything  else  ;  not  to 
suppose,  for  instance  (as  we  might  think  from  the  title  of  a 
book  much  spoken  of.  Hallucinations  veridiques),  that  there 
can  be  real  hallucinations.  From  the  moment  that  the 
impression  made  can  be  considered  real,  the  result  of  an  ex- 
terior cause  acting  on  the  mind  or  brain,  it  loses  its  hal- 
lucinatory character  and  enters  the  order  of  facts.  This  dis- 
tinction becomes  of  the  utmost  importance.  The  difficulty 
before  us  is  to  separate  what  is  error  or  illusion  from  that 
which  is  reality  in  the  very  confused  details  of  these  phe- 
nomena. 

The  Dictionary  of  the  Academy  defines  hallucination, 
^'  error,  illusion  of  a  person  whose  perceptions  are  not  con- 

207 


THE    UNKNOWN 

formed  to  reality"  (erretir,  illusion  d'une  personne  dont  les 
perce2:)tio7is  ne  sont  pas  conforme  d  la  realite).  This  explana- 
tion is  vague  and  confused,  and  can  be  applied  to  other 
things  besides  hallucinations.  We  cannot  be  satisfied  with 
such  a  definition.  Littre  says:  "  Perception  of  sensations 
without  any  exterior  object  to  give  birth  to  them."  {Per- 
ceptioji  des  sensations  sans  aucun  objet  exterieur  qui  les  fasse 
nattre.)  This  is  rather  more  clear  and  precise.  In  a  paper 
on  visual  hallucination  Dr.  Max  Simon  writes:  "Hallucina- 
tion consists  in  a  sensory  perception  without  any  exterior  ob- 
ject which  gives  rise  to  it."  [Uhalluci nation  consiste  en  une 
perception  sensorielle  sa?is  objet  exterieur  qui  la  fasse  nattre.) 
This  definition  is  certainly  one,  like  that  of  Littre,  which  cor- 
responds to  the  general  idea,  and  we  will  adopt  it.  The  es- 
sential thing  is  to  agree  upon  this  point — viz.,  that  hallucina- 
tion is  a  sensation  entirely  subjective,  an  erroneous,  a  false 
perception. 

Brierre  de  Boismont  has  written  on  hallucinations*  a  most 
interesting  book,  which  has  now  become  a  classic,  in  which 
the  doctor,  whose  specialty  is  in  cases  of  mental  derangement, 
plays  a  leading  part,  but  in  which  he  takes  care  always  to  ob- 
serve that  all  hallucinations  are  not  the  same  thing  as  in- 
sanity, and  calls  our  attention  to  the  fact  that  on  the  one 
hand  the  history  of  Christianity  is  full  of  such  facts,  especial- 
ly in  its  early  ages,  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  more  than 
one  hallucination  took  place  when  the  brain  was  in  a  perfect- 
ly healthy  state.  This  book  may  be  considered  as  one  of  the 
first  attempts  of  independent  scientific  thought  to  oppose  the 
classic  pathological  theory,  and  to  establish  that  in  certain 
cases  hallucination  may  be  considered  a  purely  physiological 
phenomenon.  Furthermore,  as  the  writer  is  a  declared  par- 
tisan of  the  principle  of  the  duality  of  man's  nature,  he  re- 
jects the  opinion  that  all  insanity  proceeds  from  nervousness, 
and  that  our  right  senses  are  the  result  of  what  is  physiologi- 
cal and  material.     "  Ideas,"  he  says,  "  belong  to  an  order 

'  Les  hallucinations,  ou  histoire  raisonnee  des  apparitions,  des  visions, 
des  songes,  de  Vextase,  du  magnetisme  et  du  soninambulisme.    Paris,  1853. 

208 


HALLUCINATIONS,  PROPERLY  SO  CALLED 

differing  from  sensations.  Psychological  facts  cannot  be  put 
on  the  same  line  as  things  that  we  can  feel.  The  brain  is  in- 
deed the  seat  of  intellectual  operations,  but  it  is  not  their 
creator. ^^  Brierre  de  Boismont  may  be  considered  the  pre- 
cursor of  all  who  have  labored  to  investigate  psychical  prob- 
lems, though  the  word  hallucination  has  retained,  in  spite  of 
this  grand  treatise,  its  pathological  and  medical  meaning.  It 
will  be  better  to  give  here  a  few  examples  of  different  kinds 
of  hallucinations. 

Hallucination  is  a  waking  dream.  Dreams  sometimes  pro- 
duce hallucinations  which  offer  all  the  characteristics  of  real 
ones. 

The  hallucinations  of  madness,  the  eccentricities  of  mental 
derangement  are  so  numerous,  so  varied,  and  so  well  known, 
that  it  would  be  superfluous  to  dwell  upon  them.  Works  of 
doctors  on  mental  maladies  are  full  of  them,  and  any  one 
may  consult  these  books  without  difficulty.  Besides,  they 
have  nothing  in  common  with  the  facts  we  are  considering. 
Let  us  choose  only  cases  well  observed  and  well  described  by 
those  who  have  experienced  them.  We  will  borrow  what  fol- 
lows from  the  work  of  Doctor  Ferrier,  of  Manchester,  who 
had  it  from  Nicolai,  the  author,  at  Berlin.'  It  is  somewhat 
old,  but  it  is  typical : 

''During  the  last  ten  months  of  the  year  1790,''  says  this 
academician,  ''I  had  had  some  troubles  which  greatly  affected 
me.  Doctor  Delle,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  bleeding  me 
twice  a  year,  judged  it  best  this  year  to  take  from  me  only 
one  emission  of  blood.  On  February  24, 1791,  after  an  excit- 
ing dispute,  I  saw,  suddenly,  about  ten  feet  away  from  me,  a 
figure  of  death.  I  asked  my  wife  if  she  saw  it.  My  question 
greatly  alarmed  her,  and  she  sent  at  once  for  a  doctor.  The 
apparition  lasted  eight  minutes.  At  four  in  the  afternoon 
the  same  thing  reappeared.  I  was  then  alone.  Much  troub- 
led by  this,  I  Avent  to  my  wife's  room.  There  the  vision 
followed   me.     At  ten   o'clock  I  could   see   several   figures 

^See  Sir  Walter  Scott:  Demonology  Letter,  1,  and  Brierre  de  Bois- 
mont Des  hallucinatiom 

209 


THE    UNKNOWN' 

which  seemed  to  have  no  connection  with  the  first.  When 
the  first  emotion  had  passed  I  looked  steadily  at  the  phan- 
toms, taking  them  for  what  they  really  were,  the  result  of  in- 
disposition. Penetrated  by  this  idea,  I  observed  them  with 
the  greatest  care,  trying  to  discover  by  what  association  of 
ideas  these  forms  could  have  presented  themselves  to  my  im- 
agination. But  I  could  discover  no  connection  with  my  oc- 
cupations, my  thoughts,  or  my  studies.  The  next  day  the 
figure  of  death  disappeared,  but  it  was  replaced  by  a  great 
number  of  other  figures,  sometimes  like  my  friends,  but  gener- 
ally those  of  strangers.  Persons  with  whom  I  was  in  the  habit 
of  associating  bore  no  part  in  these  apparitions,  which  were 
entirely  composed  of  people  living  more  or  less  at  a  distance. 
I  tried  to  bring  up  persons  I  knew  by  thinking  intensely  of 
how  they  looked,  but  though  I  saw  distinctly  in  my  mind  one 
or  two  of  them,  I  could  not  succeed  in  making  what  I  saw 
with  the  mind's  eye  take  an  exterior  form,  though  involun- 
tarily I  had  often  seen  my  friends  in  that  manner.  My  state 
of  mind  enabled  me  not  to  confound  these  false  impressions 
with  reality. 

*^  These  visions  were  as  clear  and  distinct  in  solitude  as  in 
company,  by  day  as  at  night,  in  the  street  as  in  my  own  house. 
When  I  shut  my  eyes  they  sometimes  disappeared,  though  in 
some  cases  they  were  visible.  But  as  soon  as  I  opened  my 
eyes  they  reappeared.  In  general  these  figures,  which  be- 
longed to  both  sexes,  seemed  to  pay  little  attention  to  each 
other,  and  walked  about  as  if  intent  on  something,  like  peo- 
ple in  a  market-place.  Sometimes,  however,  they  seemed  to 
have  something  to  say  to  each  other.  At  various  times  I  saw 
men  on  horseback,  dogs,  and  birds.  They  had  nothing  par- 
ticular in  their  looks,  their  stature,  or  their  clothing,  only  they 
seemed  somewhat  paler  than  was  natural. 

^'  After  about  four  weeks  the  number  of  these  apparitions 
increased.  I  began  to  hear  them  speak.  Sometimes  they 
spoke  to  me;  what  they  said  was  generally  agreeable.  At 
various  times  they  seemed  to  me  like  kind  and  sympathetic 
friends  who  wished  to  comfort  me. 

'^  Although  my  mind  and  body  were  both  at  this  time  in 

210 


HALLUCINATIONS,  PROPERLY  SO  CALLED 

good  order,  and  though  the  spectres  had  become  so'  familiar 
that  they  did  not  in  the  least  disquiet  me,  I  thought  it  better 
to  get  rid  of  them  by  suitable  remedies.  It  was  decided  that 
I  should  have  an  application  of  leeches,  which  took  place 
April  20,  1791,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  doctor 
was  alone  with  me;  during  the  operation  my  room  was  filled 
with  human  figures  6i  all  kinds.  This  hallucination  con- 
tinued without  interruption  until  half-past  four,  the  hour  at 
which  digestion  begins.  I  then  perceived  that  the  phantoms 
began  to  move  more  slowly.  Soon  after  they  grew  fainter;  at 
seven  o'clock  they  were  all  white,  and  their  movements  were 
slow  though  their  forms  were  as  distinct  as  ever.  By  degrees 
they  became  vaporous,  and  seemed  to  melt  into  air.  At  eight 
the  whole  chamber  was  free  from  these  fantastic  visitors. 

"  Since  then  I  have  twice  or  thrice  fancied  that  the  visions 
were  about  to  reappear,  but  nothing  of  the  kind  has  taken 
place/* 

Now  this  is  a  case  of  hallucination  that  is  real  and  incon- 
testible. 

The  writer  carefully  analyzed  his  sensations,  and  took  care 
to  point  out  that  this  astounding  disorder  in  his  mind  might 
be  explained  by  the  influence  of  his  griefs  and  by  the  dis- 
order in  the  circulation  of  the  brain  which  followed  it. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  also  relates  in  his  Demonology  that  a  pa- 
tient of  the  eminent  Doctor  Gregory,  having  sent  for  that 
physician,  told  him  in  the  following  words  of  his  singular 
sufferings  : 

"  'I  am  accustomed,'  he  said,  ^to  dine  at  five  o'clock,  and 
when  six  o'clock  comes  I  have  a  singular  visit.  The  door  of 
my  room  opens  suddenly,  even  when  I  have  been  cowardly 
enough  to  bolt  it,  and  an  old  witch  enters.  She  looks  like 
one  of  those  upon  the  heath  of  Fores.  She  has  a  menacing 
and  angry  air,  and  comes  up  to  me  with  gestures  of  contempt 
and  indignation,  such  as  the  witches  might  have  worn  who 
visited  Abdallah  in  the  Oriental  tales.  She  springs  at  me  so 
suddenly  that  I  cannot  avoid  her,  and  gives  me  a  sharp  blow 
with  her  crutch.  I  fall  from  my  chair  unconscious,  and  I 
stay  unconscious  for  some   time.     Every  day  I  am  at  the 

211 


THE    UNKNOWN 

mercy  of  this  apparition,  and  this  is  my  wonderful  subject  of 
complaint/ 

''The  doctor  asked  him  at  once  if  he  had  ever  invited  any 
one  to  dine  with  him  to  witness  such  a  visit.  He  answered 
'no/  What  he  had  to  complain  of  was  so  peculiar  that  he 
did  not  like  to  speak  of  it.  People  would  of  course  attribute 
it  to  mental  derangement,  and  he  had  not  mentioned  it  to 
any  one.  '  Then,'  said  the  doctor,  '  if  you  will  allow  me,  I 
will  come  and  dine  with  you  to-day  tUe-d-Ute,  and  we  shall 
see  if  the  old  woman  will  come  and  trouble  us.'  The  patient, 
who  had  expected  that  the  doctor  would  laugh  at  him,  and 
not  that  he  would  feel  compassion  for  him,  gladly  accepted 
the  proposal.  They  dined  together,  and  Doctor  Gregory,  who 
suspected  some  disorder  of  the  nerves,  exerted  all  his  powers 
of  conversation,  told  the  most  various  and  brilliant  stories^ 
trying  to  captivate  the  attention  of  his  host  and  prevent  him 
from  thinking  that  the  fatal  hour  drew  near. 

"His  success  was  even  greater  than  he  had  dared  to  hope. 
Six  o'clock  came  and  excited  no  attention.  But  a  few  min- 
utes later  the  monomaniac  cried  in  a  voice  of  anguish,  '  Here 
comes  the  witch !'  and  falling  back  in  his  chair  he  lost  con- 
sciousness." 

This  phantom  with  a  crutch  is  very  like  what  people  see  in 
nightmare  ;  oppression  on  the  chest  and  suffocation  often 
lead  to  images  in  the  brain.  Any  sudden  noise  heard  by  the 
sleeper,  if  he  does  not  wake  at  once,  or  any  sensation  anal- 
ogous to  touch,  is  assimilated  in  the  dream,  in  some  way  is 
connected  with  it,  and  enters  into  the  current  of  the  dream, 
whatever  that  may  be,  and  nothing  is  more  remarkable  than 
the  rapid  way  in  which  the  imagination  proceeds  to  incorpo- 
rate any  sudden  sound  into  the  dream,  according  to  the 
dream-ideas  already  existed.  If,  for  example,  the  dream  was 
of  a  duel,  the  sounds  heard  are  in  an  instant  converted  into 
pistol  shots.  If  the  dreamer  was  thinking  of  an  orator 
making  a  speech,  the  sounds  change  into  plaudits  from  an  au- 
dience ;  if  the  sleeper  is  wandering  among  ruins,  the  noise  be- 
comes the  fall  of  some  portion  of  the  walls.  In  a  word,  a 
system  of  explanation  is  adopted  during  sleep  with  such  ra- 


HALLUCINATIONS,    PROPERLY    SO    CALLED 

pidity,  that  supposing  that  the  sharp,  sudden  noise  which  has 
half-awakened  the  sleeper  to  have  been  a  loud  call,  the  ex- 
planation in  the  brain  of  the  sleeper  will  have  taken  place, 
and  he  will  have  recovered  before  a  second  call  has  roused 
him  to  the  world  of  realities.  The  succession  of  our  ideas  in 
sleep  is  so  rapid  and  intuitive  that  it  offers  us  an  explanation 
of  the  vision  of  Mohammed,  who  had  time  to  mount  up  to  the 
seventh  heaven  before  the  jar  of  water,  which  had  fallen  at 
the  beginning  of  his  ecstasy,  was  entirely  emptied,  when  he 
recovered  his  senses. 

But  we  will  no  longer  occupy  ourselves  with  sleep  and 
dreams,  which  will  form  the  subject  of  a  succeeding  chapter, 
let  us  here  only  take  account  of  hallucinations. 

There  is  a  phenomenon  experienced  by  very  many  persons, 
among  them  Alfred  Maury,  with  whom  I  have  talked  about 
it  several  times,  which  throws  great  light  on  the  production 
of  dreams ;  they  are  hallucinations  immediately  preceding 
sleep  or  wakening.  These  images,  these  fantastic  sensations, 
take  place  at  the  moment  when  sleep  is  just  overcoming  us, 
or  when  we  are  as  yet  only  partially  awakened.  They  are  a 
different  order  of  hallucinations  from  those  to  which  we  prop- 
erly apply  the  word  hypnagogic,  derived  from  two  Greek 
words,  vTTvoQ  sleep,  ayioyevg  that  which  leads,  a  conductor,  the 
union  of  which  indicates  the  moment  when  the  hallucination 
generally  manifests  itself. 

Persons  who  most  frequently  experience  these  hypnagogic 
manifestations  have  constitutions  easily  excited,  and  general- 
ly liable  to  an  enlargement  of  the  heart,  to  epicarditis,  or  to 
trouble  in  the  brain.  This  was  confirmed  by  Alfred  Maury 
from  his  own  experience.' 

^'  My  hallucinations,"  he  writes,  *^are  most  numerous,  and, 
above  all,  most  vivid,  when  I  have,  as  I  have  often,  a  dispo- 
sition to  congestion  of  the  brain.  As  soon  as  I  suffer  from 
severe  headache,  as  soon  as  I  experience  nervous  pains  in  my 
eyes,  the  hallucinations  begin  when  I  have  closed  my  eyelids. 
It  is  thus  that  I  explain  why  I  always  have  them  when  travel- 

^Le  sommeil  et  les  JReves. 
213 


THE    UNKNOWN 

ling  by  diligence.  After  having  spent  a  night  in  the  vehicle, 
want  of  sleep  and  broken  sleep  always  bring  on  one  of  my 
headaches.  One  of  my  cousins,  Gustave  L.,  who  has  the 
same  hallucinations,  has  made  remarks  on  them  analogous  to 
my  own.  When  I  have  been  busy  with  any  difficult  work 
in  the  evening,"  he  continues,  '''the  hallucinations  never  fail 
to  assail  me.  A  few  years  ago,  when  I  had  passed  two  con- 
secutive days  translating  a  long  and  very  difficult  passage 
from  the  Greek,  I  saw,  as  soon  as  I  was  in  bed,  such  a  num- 
ber of  figures  round  me,  moving  and  changing  so  rapidly, 
that  in  a  fright  I  sprang  up  in  my  bed,  hoping  by  movement 
to  get  rid  of  them.  But  when  I  am  in  the  country  and  have 
a  quiet  mind,  I  very  rarely  experience  the  phenomenon. 

''^Champagne  or  cafe  noir  with  me,  even  if  taken  in  very 
small  quantities,  brings  on  insomnia  and  headache,  always 
disposing  me  to  hypnagogic  visions.  But  in  this  case  they 
do  not  appear  until  after  a  considerable  interval,  when  I  have 
been  several  hours  trying  in  vain  to  get  to  sleep,  and  sleep 
seems  on  the  point  of  coming  upon  me. 

''  I  would  add,  in  support  of  these  observations,  which 
seem  to  point  to  congestion  of  the  brain  as  one  of  the  marked 
causes  of  hallucinations,  that  all  those  I  have  met  who  have 
had  the  same  experience  have  told  me  that  they  were  subject 
to  headache,  while  other  persons  (my  mother  being  one  of 
them),  who  seem  to  know  nothing  of  headache,  tell  me  they 
never  have  had  such  hallucinations." 

This  observation  shows  us  that  the  phenomenon  has  some 
connection  with  the  excitement  of  the  nervous  system,  and 
a  tendency  to  congestion  of  the  brain. 

Hypnagogic  hallucination  is  an  indication  that  when  sleep 
is  coming  on,  sensorial  and  cerebral  activity  grows  weak.  In 
reality,  when  these  hallucinations  begin  the  mind  has  ceased 
to  be  attentive.  It  no  longer  pursues  its  voluntary  and  logi- 
cal order  of  thought,  or  of  reflection ;  it  gives  its  imagination 
free  play,  and  becomes  the  passive  witness  of  whatever  it  cre- 
ates or  puts  an  end  to  at  its  pleasure.  This  condition  of  non- 
attention,  of  intellectual  non-tension,  we  may  say,  is  in  prin- 
ciple necessary  for  the  pre  Inction  of  these  phenomena,  and 

314 


HALLUCINATIONS,  PROPERLY  SO  CALLED 

it  explains  why  they  are  the  precursors  of  sleep.  For  in  order 
to  yield  to  sleep  onr  intelligence  must  retire  in  some  way, 
must  loosen  its  springs,  and  place  itself  in  a  state  of  semi- 
torpor.  Now  the  commencement  of  this  state  is  precisely  that 
which  is  necessary  for  the  production  of  hallucinations.  The 
retreat  of  attention  may  be  either  due  to  fatigue  in  the  or- 
gans of  thought,  to  their  want  of  the  habit  of  thinking  for 
any  length  of  time,  or  to  the  fatigue  of  senses,  which,  blunt- 
ed for  a  moment,  cease  to  carry  sensations  to  the  brain,  and 
no  longer  furnish  the  mind  with  elements  or  subjects  for  its 
activity.  It  is  to  the  first  of  these  causes  that  results  the 
sleep  induced  by  the  dreaminess  which  has  preceded  it.  The 
mind,  by  ceasing  to  be  attentive,  has  gradually  brought  on 
sleep.  This  is  the  reason  why  some  persons  not  much  ac- 
customed to  meditation,  or  purely  mental  attention,  go  to 
sleep  when  they  begin  to  meditate,  or  even,  in  some  cases,  to 
read.  This  is  why  a  sermon  or  a  stupid  book  induces  sleep ; 
attention,  not  being  sufficiently  excited  by  the  speaker,  or  by 
the  interest  of  what  is  read,  draws  back,  and  sleep  at  once 
takes  possession. 

In  this  state  of  non-attention  the  senses  are  not  yet  lulled 
to  sleep — the  ear  hears,  the  limbs  feel  anything  that  comes  in 
contact  with  them,  the  sense  of  smell  perceives  odors,  but  at 
the  same  time  their  power  to  transmit  these  sensations  is  not 
so  active  or  so  clear  as  in  the  waking  state.  As  to  the  mind, 
it  ceases  to  have  any  distinct  consciousness  of  the  /  (our  in- 
dividual existence).  It  is  in  some  sort  passive;  it  concen- 
trates itself  on  objects  by  which  it  is  directly  struck ;  it  per- 
ceives, hears,  sees,  but  without  knowing  what  it  is  that  it 
sees,  hears,  or  perceives.  We  discern  in  this  a  mental 
mechanism  of  a  very  peculiar  kind,  resembling  in  all  points 
dreaminess  or  half-conscious  reverie. 

But  as  soon  as  the  mind  comes  to  itself,  as  soon  as  atten- 
tion is  aroused,  consciousness  resumes  its  sway.  We  may 
reasonably  say  that  in  the  intermediate  state  between  wak- 
ing and  sleeping  the  mind  is  the  sport  of  images  evoked  by  the 
imagination ;  that  these  images  take  entire  possession  of  it, 
lead  it  where  they  will,  lay  it  under  a  spell,  draw  it  out  of 

215 


THE    UNKNOWN 

itself  without  permitting  it  at  the  time  to  reflect  on  what  it 
is  doing,  although  afterwards,  when  it  comes  to  itself,  it  may 
perfectly  remember  what  it  has  experienced. 

Once,  under  the  influence  of  hunger  induced  by  long  fast- 
ing, which  had  been  prescribed  for  him,  M.  Maury  saw  in 
the  intermediate  state  between  waking  and  sleeping  a  plate 
with  food  upon  it,  which  a  hand  was  picking  up  on  a  fork. 
When  he  went  to  sleep  a  few  minutes  later  he  found  himself 
seated  at  a  well-furnished  table,  and  heard  the  rattle  of  the 
guests'  knives  and  forks. 

It  is  not  only  figures  more  or  less  strange,  sounds,  sen- 
sations of  taste,  smell,  and  touch  which  assail  us  at  the  mo- 
ment sleep  is  stealing  over  us,  but  sometimes  words  and 
phrases  surge  up  suddenly  in  our  minds  when  we  have  gone 
to  sleep,  without  any  previous  connection.  These  things  are 
real  hallucinations  of  thought,  for  words  sound  in  the  ear 
of  the  sleeper  as  if  a  voice  from  without  had  uttered 
them. 

The  phenomenon,  therefore,  is  the  same,  whether  it  re- 
lates to  a  sound  or  an  idea.  The  brain  has  been  impressed 
by  a  sensation  or  by  a  thought ;  later  this  impression  is  pro- 
duced spontaneously  through  its  retention  by  the  action  of 
the  brain,  which  gives  birth  either  to  a  hynagogic  illusion  or 
a  dream.  These  percussions  of  thought,  this  reappearance 
of  images  previously  perceived  by  the  mind,  are  often  inde- 
pendent of  the  thing  last  thought  of.  They  then  result 
from  interior  movements  of  the  brain,  correlative  to  those  of 
the  rest  of  the  organism,  where  they  are  produced  by  means 
of  connection  with  other  images  which  have  excited  the 
mind,  in  the  same  way  that  the  same  thing  takes  place  in  our 
ideas  as  soon  as  we  give  ourselves  up  to  reverie  and  give  free 
play  to  our  imagination. 

Apparitions  seen  in  dreams  may  only  be  hallucinations 
caused  by  the  recollection  of  something  that  had  passed  out 
of  our  remembrance,  but  which  remained  latent  in  the  mem- 
ory. On  this  we  have  an  observation  made  by  M.  Alfred 
Maury.* 

*  Le  Sommeil  et  les  Reves. 
216 


HALLUCINATIONS,  PROPERLY  SO  CALLED 

"I  passed  the  first  years  of  my  life  at  Meaux,  and  I  often 
went  to  a  neighboring  village  called  Trilport,  which  was  on 
the  Marne,  and  where  my  father  was  building  a  bridge.  One 
night,  in  a  dream,  I  found  myself  carried  back  to  the  days 
of  my  chidhood,  and  was  playing  in  the  village  of  Trilport. 
There  I  saw,  dressed  in  a  sort  of  uniform,  a  man  whom  I 

spoke  to  and  asked  his  name.     He  said  it  was  C ,  and 

that  he  was  the  watchman  of  the  port,  and  then  he  disap- 
peared, his  place  being  taken  by  other  personages.     I  woke 

up  with  a  start  with  the  name  of  C in  my  head.     Was 

that  pure  imagination,  or  had  there  been  at  Trilport  a  watch- 
man named  C ?  I  did  not  know,  not  having  any  re- 
membrance of  such  a  name.  Some  time  after  I  ques- 
tioned an  old  servant  who  had  formerly  been  in  my  father's 
service,  and  who  often  went  with  me  to  Trilport.     I  asked 

her  if  she  remembered  any  one  of  the  name  of  C .     She 

answered  at  once  that  there  was  a  watchman  of  that  name 
at  the  port  on  the  Marne  when  my  father  was  building  the 
bridge.  Of  course  I  had  seen  him,  as  she  had,  but  all  recol- 
lection of  him  had  departed  from  my  mind.  The  dream, 
by  bringing  him  back  to  me,  had,  as  it  were,  revealed  what 
I  had  wholly  forgotten." 

This  is  another  perfect  type  of  hallucination  carefully 
told.  We  must  mistrust  latent  images,  remembrances  that 
have  been  effaced,  and  things  that  have  no  relation  to  oth- 
ers. There  is  more  than  one  impression  of  this  kind  in  the 
accounts  that  have  been  sent  to  me.  It  would  be  useless  to 
publish  them. 

Nevertheless  it  may  not  be  without  interest  to  mention  the 
four  following  cases  : 

"  About  a  year  ago,  while  in  the  intermediate  state  which 
immediately  follows  waking,  and  in  which  the  sleeper  has 
not  yet  recovered  full  command  of  his  senses,  I  saw  very 
distinctly,  and  that  in  almost  complete  darkness  (it  was  five 
in  the  morning),  a  human  form  standing  motionless  a  little 
more  than  a  yard  away  from  me. 

'^Although,  as  I  have  said,  my  mind  was  not  yet  thoroughly 
awake,  I  was  quite  conscious  that  I  was  not  asleep. 

217 


THE    UNKNOWN 

''The  phenomenon  only  lasted  a  few  seconds,  then  the 
figure  passed  away,  but  it  reappeared  a  moment  after  with 
the  same  features  as  at  first.  1  recognized  no  one  that  I 
knew,  and  that  perhaps  is  the  reason  why  I  did  not  try  to 
trace  any  coincidence  with  a  death. 

"  Some  months  ago,  under  the  same  circumstances,  a  new 
figure  appeared  to  me,  but  it  was  equally  unknown  to  me. 

"  I  ought  to  add  that  before  these  manifestations  I  had 
had  occasion  to  ascertain  that,  when  suddenly  awakened  in 
the  middle  of  a  dream,  one  may  continue  to  see,  for  a  few 
moments  after  awakening,  the  objects  just  seen  during  sleep. 

"  But  in  the  two  preceding  cases  the  vision  took  place 
after  waking,  and  was  not,  as  in  this  last  case,  the  continu- 
ation of  an  impression  received  during  a  dream.  So  prob- 
ably there  is  a  distinction  to  be  established  between  the  two 
kinds  of  phenomena.  Ch.  Tousche. 

"Vice-Secretary  of  the  Flammarion  Scientific  Society  at  Marseilles; 
Member  of  the  Astronomical  Society  of  France,  and  of  the  Society 
for  Advanced  Psychical  Studies  at  Marseilles." 
Letter  388. 

This  was  most  probably  a  hypnagogic  hallucination  : 

"1  was  twelve  years  of  age.  One  morning  about  seven  (I 
do  not  remember  the  time  of  year,  but  it  was  daylight),  I 
was  in  bed,  and  alone  in  the  house ;  my  uncle,  who  inhabited 
the  same  apartment,  had  got  up  at  least  an  hour  earlier, 
to  go  to  work  (he  was  a  blacksmith).  A  round  table  was 
beside  the  bed,  and  touched  the  alcove  in  which  the  bed  was 
situated.  On  the  table  there  were  several  objects,  princi- 
pally my  things. 

''  At  the  moment  when  on  waking  I  opened  my  eyes,  I 
saw  near  the  table,  standing  opposite  to  me,  a  man  appar- 
ently engaged  in  tying  his  cravat. 

"  I  at  once  shut  my  eyes  again  and  held  my  breath  ;  then 
a  few  moments  after — half  a  minute,  possibly — curiosity  prov- 
ing stronger  than  fear,  I  reopened  my  eyes  and  I  saw  this 
same  man  walking  round  the  table ;  he  passed  letiueen  it  and 
the  alcove.  I  shut  my  eyes  again,  and  when  I  opened  them  I 
saw  nothing. 

218 


HALLUCINATIONS,  PROPERLY  SO  CALLED 

"  The  man  passed  hetween  the  table  and  the  alcove,  and  yet 
the  table  stood  close  up  to  the  alcove,  I  heard  no  noise,  not 
even  the  sound  of  footsteps — 7iot  the  smallest  noise.  He  seemed 
to  pay  no  attention  to  me. 

'^  I  do  not  remember  what  his  face  looked  like.  The 
apparition  had  no  coincidence  with  any  death  that  I  am 
aware  of.  Gr.  Lamy. 

"39  Rue  Richelandi^re,  Saint  i^tienne  (Loire)." 
Letter  327. 

The  same  case,  no  doubt. 

"  About  two  months  ago,  one  night,  having  gone  to  bed  a 
few  moments  before,  but  not  being  asleep,  I  suddenly  felt  as 
if  something  heavy  were  pressing  on  my  legs. 

"I  took  my  head  from  under  the  bedclothes,  and  I  saw 
very  distinctly  a  child  in  swaddling  clothes,  who  looked  at 
me  smiling.  Frightened  by  the  apparition,  I  drew  out  my 
arm  and  gave  a  brutal  blow  in  its  direction.  The  child 
slipped  off  the  foot  of  the  bed  and  disappeared.  I  was 
perfectly  awake.  The  moon  lighted  up  my  room  sufficiently 
for  me  to  distinguish  objects,  and  I  distinctly  saw  the  vision. 

"Besides  this,  my  room  was  shut  tight,  and  no  kind  of 
animal  could  have  jumped  upon  my  bed.  The  next  morn- 
ing I  examined  my  chamber,  and  everything  was  in  perfect 
order.  I  will  add  in  this  connection  that  I  had  at  once 
thought  of  my  little  nephew,  then  three  months  old,  and 
who,  thank  God,  is  in  excellent  health.  F.  M. 

"  Manasque." 

Letter  393. 

Here  are  some  more  hallucinatory  sights. 

"About  two  weeks  ago  I  had,  during  the  night,  being  in 
bed,  but  perfectly  awake,  with  my  eyes  wide  open,  the  im- 
pression that  I  saw  a  human  being. 

"  This  impression  lasted  about  a  minute,  and  what  I  saw 
looked  to  me  like  a  medallion  representing  the  bust  of  a 
woman,  large  as  life,  moving  like  the  luminous  projection 
from  a  magic   lantern,  growing  fainter  and   changing  its 

form. 

219 


THE    UNKNOWN 

''During  this  minute  I  had  time  to  recover  my  senses  and 
to  think  how  this  experience  might  assist  you  in  your  re- 
searches. 

*'  The  figure  awakened  no  remembrance,  and  it  seemed 
wholly  unknown  to  me.  I  cannot  tell,  therefore,  if  its  appear- 
ance coincided  with  any  death.  In  any  case,  it  was  the 
death  of  no  one  belonging  to  me. 

''I  never  believed  it  to  be  an  apparition,  but  merely  an 
aberration  of  vision. 

''  I  ought  to  say  that  though  it  was  quite  dark  in  my  cham- 
ber, I  perfectly  saw  the  features.  Henriot, 

"Veterinary  Surgeon.     Chavanges  (Aube)." 
Letter  473. 

In  this  case  also  there  was  no  doubt  a  sort  of  half -dream 
hallucination. 

The  examples  which  preceded  these  last  are  cases  of  real 
hallucinations.  Several  of  them  leave  no  room  for  doubt.  One 
is  tempted  to  say  the  same  of  all  the  facts  with  which  we  are 
now  dealing,  and  it  is  in  general  what  we  believe  about  them. 
But  a  great  number  of  objections  might  be  raised,  if  one  is 
not  content  with  a  superficial  view  of  them,  and  if  one  gives 
one's  self  the  trouble  to  analyze  to  the  very  bottom  things  that 
have  been  observed. 

Some  other  examples  might  be  classed  in  the  preceding 
category.  For  instance,  M.  V.  de  Kerkhove  (p.  53),  being 
in  Texas,  and  quietly  smoking  his  pipe,  after  dinner,  about 
sunset,  saw  his  grandfather,  whom  he  had  left  in  Belgium, 
appear  before  him  in  a  doorway.  He  was  half  asleep,  after  a 
good  dinner,  and  was  just  in  the  right  condition  for  a  hypna- 
gogic hallucination.  We  should  have  considered  what  he 
saw  to  have  been  this  only,  had  his  grandfather  not  died  at 
the  same  hour.  Why  should  he  have  had  an  hallucination 
precisely  at  that  exact  moment  ?  We  shall  be  told  that  it 
was  just  that  coincidence  which  made  it  remarked  upon. 
But  no.  M.  De  Kerkhove  never  had  any  other  hallucina- 
tion, and  it  is  the  same  in  almost  all  these  cases.  It  is  very 
rare  that  the  same  person  sees  several  apparitions.    Generally 

220 


HALLUCINATIONS,   PROPERLY    SO    CALLED 

he  sees  only  one,  and  that  one  has  nsnally  coincided  with  a 
death.  The  case  is  not  by  any  means  the  same  except  for 
presentiment,  more  or  less  vague,  when  one,  having  been  re- 
alized by  chance,  makes  more  impression  than  others. 

M.  De  Kerkhove  was  not  thinking  about  his  grandfather's 
health  any  more  than  Madame  Block  was  thinking  of  her 
nephew  when  she  saw  him  in  Rome,  a  boy  aged  fourteen, 
who  was  dying  in  Paris,  and  whom  she  had  left  quite  well 
(p.  51).  Neither  was  Madame  Berget,  at  Schlestadt,  think- 
ing of  the  singing  of  her  friend,  the  nun,  at  the  moment  she 
was  dying  in  Strasbourg  (p.  57) ;  nor  the  young  girl  who, 
at  a  gay  dinner-party,  saw  the  apparition  of  her  mother ; 
nor  Mr.  Garling  when,  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  he  met  on 
the  high-road  his  friend  Harrison,  who  was  dying  of  cholera 
(p.  175).  Our  one  hundred  and  eighty-one  cases  are  entire- 
ly unconnected  with  these  physiological  explanations.  These 
are  not  the  same  conditions  and  associations  of  ideas  con- 
nected with  them  that  are  commonly  found  in  hypnagogic 
dreams. 

Another  objection  :  The  precise  date  of  a  death  may  be 
known  to  an  apparition,  and  falsely  reported  in  an  official 
document,  as  in  the  case  of  Mrs.  Wheatcroft,  who  saw  her 
liusband  killed  on  November  14th,  when  later  the  War  Office 
falsely  reported  his  death  on  the  15th,  a  date  that  was  after- 
wards rectified  (p.  166).  In  all  these  cases  any  explanation 
by  hallucination  is  utterly  insufficient.  Although  among  the 
numerous  cases  reported,  there  may  exist  some  that  are  con- 
nected with  fortuitous  circumstances,  the  greater  part  can 
be  explained  without  recourse  to  this  hypothesis.  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  there  are  real  hallucinations,  and  also  purely 
fortuitous  coincidences,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  there 
should  not  be  also  telepathic  communications  from  the  dying. 
All  three  cases  are  represented  in  this  series  of  my  docu- 
ments. 

We  will  soon  prove,  besides,  that  the  psychic  action  of  one 
spirit  on  another  from  a  distance  is  a  fact  that  cannot  be  de- 
nied. 

Brierre  de  Boismont  cites  the  following  story,  which  Fer- 

221 


THE    UNKNOWN 

rier,  Hibbert,  and  Abercrombie  have  considered  from  different 
points  of  view  : 

'' '  An  officer  of  the  English  army,  who  was  connected  with 
my  family/  says  Ferrier,  '^was  sent  to  a  garrison  town  about 
the  middle  of  the  last  century  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
residence  of  a  Scotch  gentleman,  who,  it  was  said,  had  second 
sight.  One  day  when  the  officer,  who  had  made  his  acquaint- 
ance, was  reading  a  play  to  the  ladies  of  his  family,  the  mas- 
ter of  the  house,  who  was  walking  about  the  room,  stopped 
suddenly  with  the  air  of  one  inspired.  He  pulled  the  bell, 
and  ordered  the  servant  to  saddle  a  horse  and  go  at  once  to 
a  neighboring  country  place  and  ask  after  the  health  of  the 
lady  of  the  house,  and  if  the  answer  were  that  she  was  well, 
he  was  to  go  on  to  another  country  house  and  ask  after 
another  lady,  whose  name  was  given  him. 

** '  The  officer  closed  his  book  and  begged  his  host  to  give 
him  some  explanation  of  these  sudden  orders.  The  Scotch- 
man hesitated,  but  at  last  owned  that  the  door  of  the  room 
had  appeared  to  him  to  open,  and  through  it  there  had  come 
a  little  woman  having  a  strong  resemblance  to  both  the 
ladies  whom  he  had  sent  to  inquire  for.  The  apparition,'  he 
added,  'foretold  the  death  of  some  person  of  his  acquaintance. 

"  'Some  hours  later  the  servant  returned,  and  brought  word 
that  one  of  the  ladies  had  died  of  apoplexy  at  the  very 
moment  when  the  apparition  had  taken  place. 

*' '  On  another  occasion  this  gentleman  having  been  obliged 
to  keep  his  bed,  it  happened  that  the  officer  was  reading  to 
him  one  stormy  evening.  The  fishing-boat  of  the  chateau 
was  then  at  sea.  The  old  gentleman,  after  having  several 
times  expressed  anxiety  about  the  safety  of  his  people,  sud- 
denly exclaimed,  "  The  boat  is  lostT  "  How  do  you  know  ?" 
said  the  colonel.  ^'  I  see,''  replied  the  sick  man,  ''two  boat- 
men carrying  a  third,  who  is  drowned.  Water  is  streaming 
off  from  their  clothes.  They  are  putting  the  body  down  near 
your  chair."  During  the  night  some  fishermen  came  up  to 
the  house  with  the  body  of  one  of  their  number.' " 

"  Ferrier,"  says  Brierre  de  Boismont,  "justly  sets  down  this 
vision  as  an  hallucination.     According  to  Abercrombie  it  was 

222 


HALLUCINATIONS,  PROPERLY  SO  CALLED 

a  reminiscence  of  a  forgotten  dream.  We  think  it  ought  to 
be  nambered  among  hallucinations  which  manifest  themselves 
in  a  state  of  ecstasy." 

It  would  have  been  much  simpler  to  own  at  once  that  the 
thing  was  inexplicable. 

We  are  not  authorized  to  set  down  as  hallucinations  all 
facts  that  cannot  be  explained — like  this  one  for  instance,  one 
of  a  thousand. 

Cardan  says  that  while  he  was  living  at  Pavia,  looking  down 
one  day  on  his  hands,  he  was  much  alarmed  to  see  on  his 
right  forefinger  a  spot  of  red.  During  the  evening  he  received 
a  letter  from  his  son-in-law,  apprising  him  that  his  son  had 
been  imprisoned  and  was  expressing  an  ardent  desire  to  see 
him  at  Milan,  as  he  had  been  condemned  to  death.  The  red 
mark  continued  to  spread  for  fifty-three  days,  by  which  time 
it  had  reached  the  tip  of  the  finger  and  was  the  color  of 
blood.  When  his  son  had  been  executed  the  red  mark  grew 
smaller;  the  day  after  his  death  it  had  almost  entirely  dis- 
appeared, and  two  days  later  no  trace  of  it  could  be  found. ^ 

This  strange  fact  is  also  classed  by  Brierre  de  Boismont 
among  hallucinations  (Obs.  44).  And  why?  An  optical  illu- 
sion which  lasted  fifty-three  days !  And  the  coincidence — 
can  we  overlook  that  also?  May  not  the  son  condemned  to 
death  have  acted  physically  on  his  father  by  means  of  an 
influence  which  terminated  at  his  death? 

Gratiolet,  in  his  excellent  work  upon  the  brain,'  also 
places — wrongly,  it  seems  to  us — the  three  following  narra- 
tives among  hallucinations  .• 

"  M.  Chevreul,  the  eminent  chemist,  was  thinking  intently 
one  day  as  he  sat  leaning  over  his  fire.  It  was  1814,  a 
few  days  before  the  occupation  of  Paris  by  the  Allies. 
Anxiety  reigned  everywhere.      Suddenly   he   rose,   turned 

*  Cardan  De  mta  propria. 

^  Vol.  II.  of  L'Anatomie  comparee  du  syst^me  nervevx  consideree 
dans  ses  rappoi'ts  avecV intelligence,  by  Leubet  and  Gratiolet  (1839-1857). 
My  attention  has  been  called  to  this  work  by  my  learned  friend,  M. 
Edmond  Perrier,  professor  at  the  Museum  and  Member  of  the  Institute. 
I  am  especially  grateful  to  him  for  pointing  it  out. 

223 


THE    UNKNOWN 

round,  and  saw  between  the  two  French  windows  of  his  study 
a  form  white  and  pale.  It  looked  like  a  cone  of  great  height, 
with  a  globe  on  top  of  it.  The  form,  though  well  defined, 
was  motionless,  and  while  Mr.  Chevreul  gazed  at  it  he  was 
in  a  very  peculiar  state  of  anguish.  Morally,  he  felt  no  fear, 
and  yet  he  shivered.  For  a  moment  he  turned  away  his 
eyes  and  ceased  to  look  at  the  phantom.  Then,  when  he 
looked  back  at  the  same  place,  it  was  still  there,  and  in  the 
same  attitude.  This  he  repeated  with  the  same  result.  At 
last,  tired  of  this  persistent  vision,  the  sava7it  decided  to  go 
into  his  bedroom.  To  do  so  he  had  to  pass  the  phantom, 
which,  as  he  did  so,  vanished. 

**  Three  months  later  M.  Chevreul  heard,  very  much  after 
date,  that  an  old  friend  had  died,  who,  out  of  friendship,  had 
left  him  his  library.  This  sad  news  had  long  been  retarded 
by  the  great  difficulty  of  communication  during  that  un- 
happy period,  and  when  he  compared  dates  he  proved  a  sort 
of  coincidence  between  the  time  of  his  vision  and  the  death 
of  his  friend.  'If  I  had  been  superstitious,'  M.  Chevreul 
said  to  me,  'I  might  have  thought  I  had  seen  a  real  appa- 
rition.'"^ 

That  is  precisely  the  question.  Was  it  an  apparition  or  an 
hallucination  ? 

Chevreul  also  related  to  Gratiolet  the  following  case. 

*'X ,  one  of  the  anatomists  who  made  themselves  illus- 
trious at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  was  having  his 
hair  dressed.  Suddenly  he  turned,  and  said  to  the  barber, 
'  Why  did  you  pinch  my  arm  ?'     The  man  apologized,  but  said 

he  had  not  done  so.     A  moment  after  X felt  the  same 

thing,  made  the  same  remark,  and  received  the  same  reply. 
The  hair-dresser,  having  finished,  made  the  most  formal  pro- 
testations of  his  innocence  and  went  away. 

"  The  next  day  X heard  of  the  death  of  one  of  his 

friends.     At  the  moment  when  he  felt  himself  seized  by  the 

arm,   this   unhappy   friend  was  drowned.      X was   so 

much  struck  by  this  coincidence  that  for  the  rest  of  his 

*  Anatomie  eomparee  du  systhne  nemeux.    Vol.  IT. 


HALLUCINATIONS,  PROPERLY  SO  CALLED 

life  he  was  subject  to  childish  terrors,  and  at  night  he  was 
always  attended  by  a  servant  to  his  chamber,  who  stayed 
by  him  till  he  went  to  sleep/^ 

The  hallucination  here  is  not  demonstrated,  neither  is  it  in 
the  following  case. 

The  third  fact  reported  by  Gratiolet  was  also  told  him  by 
Chevreul : 

"  He  was  still  a  boy,  and  was  playing  marbles  in  a  room 
where,  some  months  before,  one  of  his  aunts  had  died.  One 
of  his  marbles  slipped  from  him  and  rolled  into  the  alcove.' 
The  child  rushed  after  it,  but  at  the  moment  when  he  stooped 
to  pick  it  up  he  felt  a  slight  breath  upon  his  head  and  a  kiss 
upon  his  cheek ;  at  the  same  time  he  heard  a  whisper — a  voice 
said,  'Adieu  T" 

Gratiolet  adds :  ''It  is  quite  evideiit  that  m  these  cases  the 
hallucination  is  developed  under  the  influences  of  the  pan- 
ciple  of  the  association  of  ideas." 

Very  good.     No ;  it  is  not  evident. 

Here  is  another  very  remarkable  case  taken  from  the  Hal- 
hicinations  of  M.  Brierre  de  Boismont. 

"Mademoiselle  R ,  a  woman  of  excellent  judgment,  pious 

without  bigotry,  was  living,  before  she  was  married,  in  her 
uncle's  house.  He  was  a  celebrated  physician,  and  a  member 
of  the  Institute.  She  was  at  that  time  separated  from  her 
mother,  who  was  attacked  in  the  country  by  severe  illness. 
One  night  this  young  person  dreamed  that  she  saw  her  mother 
before  her,  pale  and  haggard,  about  to  breathe  her  last,  and, 
above  all,  showing  great  grief  at  not  having  all  her  children 
round  her  death-bed.  One  of  them,  the  cure  of  a  parish  in 
Paris,  had  emigrated  to  Spain,  while  another,  this  young  lady, 
was  in  Paris.  Soon  she  heard  herself  called  several  times  by 
her  Christian  name.  She  saw  in  her  dream  persons  surround- 
ing her  mother,  who,  imagining  that  she  wanted  her  little 
granddaughter,  went  into  the  next  room  to  find  her,  but  a 
sign  from  the  sick  woman  made  them  understand  that  it  was 
not  the  child  she  wanted,  but  her  daughter  in  Paris.     The 

*  Where,  in  a  French  chamber,  stands  the  bed.— 2>'aw«. 
P  235 


THE    UNKNOWN 

face  expressed  the  grief  she  felt  at  her  absence  ;  then  sud- 
denly her  features  became  altered,  and  over  them  spread  the 
pallor  of  death  ;  she  fell  back  lifeless  on  her  bed. 

"The  next  day  Mademoiselle  R.  looked  so  sad  that  her 
uncle  asked  her  what  was  the  matter.  She  told  him  all  the 
details  of  the  dream  which  had  so  greatly  agitated  her.  He 
pressed  her  to  his  heart,  and  owned  that  the  news  was  but  too 
true,  that  her  mother  had  just  died,  but  he  gave  her  no 
further  particulars. 

**Some  months  after,  in  the  absence  of  her  uncle.  Made- 
moiselle R.  undertook  to  arrange  his  papers,  which,  like 
many  other  learned  men,  he  did  not  like  to  have  meddled 
with.  There  she  found  a  letter  which  had  been  thrown  aside. 
Great  was  her  surprise  when  she  read  in  it  all  the  particulars 
of  her  dream,  which  her  uncle  had  passed  over  in  silence,  not 
wishing  to  add  anything  to  the  emotion  of  a  heart  that  was 
too  impressible. 

'^  This  account,"  says  the  author,  "  was  given  us  by  the 
lady  herself,  in  whom  we  place  the  greatest  confidence."^ 

To  the  honor  of  his  judgment — scientific,  independent,  and 
enlightened — Brierre  de  Boismont  himself  made  the  following 
reflections : 

*^^o  doubt  we  ought,  in  dealing  with  these  cases,  to  main- 
tain a  prudent  reserve;  and  the  explanation  given  of  the 
dream  of  the  minister  of  whom  Abercrombie  speaks  might, 
if  necessary,  be  applied  to  this  case  ;  but  we  must  say  frankly 
that  such  explanations  are  very  far  from  satisfying  us,  and 
that  this  subject,  with  which  we  have  been  long  occupied, 
touches  on  the  very  deepest  mysteries  of  our  being.  If  we 
were  at  liberty  to  quote  all  the  names  of  well-known  person- 
ages holding  high  positions  in  science,  men  of  excellent  judg- 
ment and  vast  knowledge,  who  have  had  such  warnings  and 


*  This  case,  as  well  as  that  of  the  English  officer  reported  by  Ferrier, 
and  the  first  two  by  Chevreul,  ought  to  be  recorded  among  the  facts  of 
telepathy.  We  will  therefore  call  them  Nos.  CLXXXH.,  CLXXXIV., 
CLXXXV.,  and  CLXXXVI.  of  our  series.  The  third  of  Chevreul  should 
be  included  among  manifestations  from  the  dead. 

226 


HALLUCINATIONS,  PROPERLY  SO  CALLED 

presentiments,  it  would  gire  the  world  much  matter  for  re- 
flection." 

Thus  physiologists  were  all  ready  half  a  century  ago  to  do 
what  The  Ukknowi^-  is  about  to  do  to-day  for  the  theory  of 
hallucinations.  The  reader  is  now  enlightened  as  to  the 
scope  and  framework  of  the  physiological  and  pathological 
theory.  Hallucination  will  not  explain  facts.  Our  duty  now 
is  to  seek  this  explanation. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  PSYCHIC  ACTION  OF  ONE  MIND  UPON  ANOTHER. — TRANS- 
MISSION OF  THOUGHT. — MENTAL  SUGGESTION. — COMMUNI- 
CATIONS  FROM    A    DISTANCE   BETWEEN   HUMAN   BEINGS 

In  beginning  these  investigations  we  have  been  careful  to 
confine  ourselves  to  the  examination  of  facts  of  one  kind 
only,  in  order  to  facilitate  their  explanation — that  is  to  say, 
the  manifestations  of  the  dying.  We  shall  shortly  consider 
the  manifestations  of  the  dead,  real  or  apparent,  and  other 
phenomena,  thus  proceeding  gradually  and  slowly,  but  se- 
curely. The  object  of  these  investigations  is  to  ascertain 
whether  objective  scientific  observation  affords  sufficient 
foundation  for  a  belief  in  the  existence  of  the  soul  as  a  real, 
independent  entity,  and  its  survival  upon  the  destruction  of 
the  corporeal  organism.  The  facts  examined  in  the  preced- 
ing chapters  have  already  placed  the  first  proposition  on  an 
excellent  footing.  The  possibilities  of  chance  and  of  fortui- 
tous coincidence  being  eliminated  from  telepathy  by  the  cal- 
culation of  probabilities,  we  are  compelled  to  admit  the  ex- 
istence of  an  unknown  psychic  force^  emanating  from  the 
human  being,  and  capable  of  making  itself  felt  at  great  dis- 
tances.* 

The  evidence  in  regard  to  this  point  is  so  abundant  and  so 
convincing  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  reject  this  first  con- 
clusion. 

*  I  believe  myself  to  be  the  first  person  to  employ  this  expression, 
psychic  force.  In  my  essay  upon  Unknown  Natural  Forces,  published  in 
1865,  this  sentence  occurs  :  "  For  some  years  I  have  termed  these  forces 
psychic.  This  expression  should  be  retained."  Now,  after  a  quarter  of 
a  century,  it  is  in  habitual  use. 

228 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

The  witnesses  who  are  influenced  by  impressions  in  which 
the  mind  of  the  living  is  united  with  that  of  the  dying  are 
not  concerned  in  their  production.  It  is  the  dying  person 
who  influences  others.  The  greater  part  of  the  examples 
given  indicate  that  the  cause  was  in  the  individual,  not  in 
the  clairvoyance  or  second-sight  of  the  subjects  impressed. 

Nor  is  it  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  soul  of  the  person 
dying  disengages  itself  and  is  transported  towards  the  subject 
influenced.  The  action  may  be  due  to  some  form  of  energy 
still  unknown  to  us,  a  radiation,  a  vibration  of  the  air,  a  wave 
affecting  the  brain  and  producing  in  it  the  illusion  of  an  ex- 
ternal reality.  It  must  be  remembered  that  all  objects  that 
we  perceive  are  not  visible,  some  of  them  reaching  our  minds 
only  by  cerebral  images. 

This  hypothetical  explanation  seems  to  me  necessary,  and 
also  sufficient,  at  least  so  far  as  concerns  the  greater  number 
of  the  facts  that  have  just  been  demonstrated. 

These  facts,  which  represent  a  class  of  subjects  much  more 
general  than  has  been  heretofore  supposed,  are  in  no  way 
supernatural.  The  proper  attitude  of  science  in  regard  to 
them  is — First,  not  to  reject  them  blindly;  and,  secondly,  to 
attempt  some  explanation  of  them.  Now  of  all  the  explana- 
tions that  can  be  offered,  the  simplest  and  most  convincing 
is,  that  the  mind  of  the  dying  person  has  acted,  from  a  dis- 
tance, upon  that  of  the  person,  or  persons,  who  have  been 
affected.  Apparitions,  auditory  illusions,  spectres,  phan- 
toms, displacement  of  objects,  noises,  are  all  intangible  ; 
none  of  them,  for  instance,  could  be  photographed.  Setting 
aside  certain  cases,  to  which  we  shall  have  to  recur,  everything 
takes  place  in  the  brain  of  the  person  affected.  But  this 
does  not  render  it  less  real. 

We  sum  up  therefore  omv  preceding  observations  dy  the  con- 
clusion THAT  OKE  MIND  CAN  ACT,  AT  A  DISTANCE,  UPON  AN- 
OTHER, without  the  habitual  medium  of  words,  nor  any  other 
visible  means  of  communication.  It  appears  to  us  alto- 
gether unreasonable  to  reject  this  conclusion  if  we  accept  the 
facts. 

This  conclusion  will  be  abundantly  demonstrated. 

229 


THE    UNKNOWN 

There  is  nothing  unscientific,  nothing  romantic  in  admit- 
ing  that  an  idea  can  influence  a  brain  from  a  distance. 

Set  in  vibration  a  violin-string,  or  the  string  of  a  piano;  at 
a  certain  distance  the  string  of  another  violin  or  piano  will 
vibrate  with  it. 

Put  in  motion  a  magnetized  needle ;  at  a  certain  distance, 
and  without  contact,  another  magnetized  needle  will  oscil- 
late synchronously  with  the  first. 

Speak  through  a  telephone  at  Paris,  electrical  communica- 
tion will  cause  the  other  end  to  vibrate  sonorously  at  Mar- 
seilles. A  material  connection  is  not  necessary.  It  is  not 
a  substance  that  is  transported;  it  is  a  wave  that  is  set  in 
motion. 

Consider  a  star  in  the  immensity  of  the  heavens,  millions 
of  thousands  of  miles  away,  at  a  distance  from  which  the 
earth  is  nothing  but  an  alsolutely  invisible  point.  By  focus- 
ing a  lens  I  expose  a  photographic  plate  to  this  star,  the  rays 
of  light  acting  on  that  plate  eat  into  and  disintegrate  the 
visible  surface  and  imprint  the  image  of  the  star  upon  the 
plate.  Is  not  this  fact  much  more  wonderful  than  that  a 
cerebral  wave  should  traverse  a  short  or  a  long  distance  to  in- 
fluence another  brain  in  harmonic  union  with  it  in  which  it 
originated? 

A  solar  commotion  millions  of  miles  away,  across  what  is 
known  as  infinite  space,  produces  an  aurora  borealis  and 
magnetic  perturbation  upon  the  earth. 

Every  human  being  is  a  dynamic  focus.  Thought  itself  is 
a  dynamic  act.  There  is  no  thought  without  correlative 
vibration  of  the  brain.  Is  it  extraordinary  that  this  move- 
ment should  be  transmitted  to  a  certain  distance,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  telephone,  or,  better  still,  in  that  of  the  photophone 
(the  conveyance  of  words  by  light),  or  in  wireless  telegraphy? 

In  the  present  condition  of  our  physical  knowledge  this 
hypothesis  is  not  too  bold.  It  is  not  outside  the  limit  of  our 
habitual  experience. 

All  our  sensations — pleasurable,  painful,  or  indifferent — take 
place,  without  exception,  in  our  brains.  We  localize  them 
elsewhere,  however,  never  in  our  brains.     I  burn  my  foot,  T 

230 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

strike  my  elbow,  I  inhale  agreeable  perfume,  I  eat  a  savory 
dish,  I  drink  an  agreeable  liquor;  each  one  of  these  sensations 
is  referred  to  the  foot,  or  to  the  finger,  the  elbow,  the  nose, 
etc.  Nevertheless,  in  reality  the  nerves  have  transmitted 
them  all,  without  exception,  to  the  brain,  and  it  is  there  that 
we  perceive  them.  We  may  burn  our  foot  to  the  bone  with- 
out experiencing  any  sensation  if  the  nerves  leading  from 
the  foot  to  the  brain  are  severed  in  any  part  of  their  course. 

This  fact  is  demonstrated  by  anatomy  and  physiology. 
What  is  perhaps  even  more  extraordinary  is  that  the  existence 
of  a  limb  is  not  necessary  to  the  perception  of  sensation  in  it. 
Persons  who  have  undergone  amputation  experience  sensa- 
tions exactly  as  though  they  still  possessed  the  amputated 
member.  The  common  idea  is,  that  the  illusion  persists  for 
some  days  only,  until,  in  fact,  the  wound  being  cicatrized  the 
patient  ceases  to  receive  professional  attention.  But  the 
real  truth  is  that  these  illusions  persist  permanently,  and 
preserve  their  intensity  during  the  remainder  of  the  patient's 
life.  Sensations  of  formication  and  of  pain  continue,  which 
have  their  apparent  seat  in  the  exterior  parts  that  exist  no 
longer.  These  sensations  are  not  vague,  for  the  sufferer  feels 
pain  or  tingling  in  this  or  that  toe,  or  on  the  sole,  or  on  the 
back  of  the  foot,  in  the  skin,  etc.  A  man  who  had  under- 
gone amputation  at  the  thigh  still  experienced  at  the  end 
of  twelve  years  sensations  in  his  toes  and  the  back  of  his 
foot.  Another,  who  had  lost  his  arm  thirteen  years  before, 
never  ceased  to  feel  sensations  in  his  fingers ;  his  hand 
seemed  to  him  always  in  a  bent  position.  Another,  who  had 
his  right  arm  shattered  by  a  cannon-ball  and  then  amputated, 
experienced  well-marked  rheumatic  pains  in  the  limb  every 
time  the  weather  changed  twenty  years  after.  During  the 
attack  of  rheumatism  the  arm  he  had  lost  so  long  before 
seemed  to  him  sensitive  to  the  least  current  of  air. 

These  illusions  after  amputation  are  strongest  at  night. 
The  subjects  of  them  are  sometimes  obliged  to  carry  their 
hands  to  the  place  where  the  limb  belonged  in  order  to 
convince  themselves  that  they  no  longer  possess  it.  When 
the  remains  of  the  nerves  become  painful,  it  is  still  more 

231 


THE    UNKNOWN 

tronblesome  to  correct  the  error.  One  man,  for  instance, 
after  an  interval  of  eight  months,  was  obliged  at  night  to 
tonch  the  spot  left  vacant  by  the  amputation  of  his  left 
arm,  and  to  glance  at  the  place  by  day  in  order  to  undeceive 
himself.  It  is  plain  that  the  sensations  of  twitching,  of 
numbness,  of  tingling,  or  of  pain  cannot  be  situated  in  the 
absent  member  ;  therefore  the  same  sensation  is  not  situated 
there  when  the  limb  is  present.  Thus,  in  both  cases  in  the 
normal  and  in  the  abnormal  condition,  the  sensation  is  not 
situated  where  we  imagine  it  to  be  — it  is  elsewhere  ;  the 
place  where  the  pain  appears  to  be  is  occupied  in  the  normal 
condition  by  a  nervous  disturbance,  not  by  sensation.  The 
nerve  is  simply  a  conductor;  proceeding  from  some  point 
where  it  has  been  stimulated,  it  arouses  the  activity  of  the 
centres  of  perception,  sensation  is  produced,  and  induces 
the  action  of  the  same  mechanism — that  is  to  say,  the  local- 
ization of  the  sensation  in  a  place  which  is  not  the  centre  of 
perception. 

In  the  operation  of  rhinoplasty,  a  strip  of  the  skin  of  the  fore- 
head extending  to  the  root  of  the  nose  is  turned  back,  in  order 
that  a  nose  may  be  formed  from  it.  When  this  is  accomplished, 
the  artificial  nose,  so  long  as  it  is  not  separated  from  the 
forehead,  preserves  the  same  sensations  that  are  experienced 
when  the  skin  of  the  forehead  is  excited  by  any  stimulation 
— that  is  to  say,  the  subject  feels  in  the  forehead  the  sensa- 
tions that  are  induced  in  the  nose. 

Consequently  when  a  sensation  to  which  we  are  accustomed 
is  caused  by  the  presence  of  an  object  more  or  less  distant  from 
our  bodies,  and  when  experience  has  taught  us  to  recognize  the 
distance,  it  is  at  that  particular  distance  that  we  localize  our 
sensation.  Such  is  certainly  the  case  with  the  sensations  of 
hearing  and  of  sight.  The  external  termination  of  the  acous- 
tic nerve  is  in  the  inner  chamber  of  the  ear.  That  of  the 
optic  nerve  is  in  the  inner  coat  of  the  eye-ball.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  not  in  these  places  that  we  locate  our  sensations  of 
sound  or  of  color,  but  outside  of  ourselves,  and  often  at  a 
very  great  distance.  The  vibrating  sound  of  a  large  clock 
seems  to  us  to  tremble  far  off  and  at  a  great  height.     The 

232 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

whistle  of  a  locomotive  appears  to  pierce  the  air  at  fifty  feet, 
perhaps,  to  the  left  of  us.  The  localization  at  a  distance  is 
even  more  distinct  for  visual  sensations.  In  this  case,  in- 
deed, it  is  carried  so  far  that  our  sensations  of  color  seem  to 
us  detached  from  ourselves  ;  we  no  longer  consider  them  as 
belonging  to  ourselves.  They  seem  to  us  to  form  a  part  of 
the  object.  We  believe  that  the  green  color  which  appears  to 
cover  the  arm-chair  three  feet  from  us  is  one  of  the  proper- 
ties of  the  chair ;  we  forget  that  it  exists  only  in  our  own  re- 
tina, or  rather  in  the  perceptive  centres  which  arouse  the 
excitability  of  our  retina.  If  we  seek  it  there  we  do  not  find 
it.  Physiologists  have  beautifully  proved  that  the  nervous 
stimulation  which  results  in  the  sensation  of  color  begins  in 
the  retina,  just  as  the  nervous  stimulation  which  results  in 
the  sensation  of  contact  begins  in  the  nerve  terminations  of 
the  hand  or  the  foot.  They  have  shown  that  the  vibrant 
ether  shocks  the  termination  of  our  optic  nerve  as  a  vibrat- 
ing tuning-fork  shocks  the  external  surface  of  our  hand.  We 
have  not  the  slightest  consciousness  of  this  stimulation  of 
our  retina,  even  when  we  concentrate  our  entire  attention 
in  this  direction.  All  our  sensations  of  color  are  thus  pro- 
jected outside  of  our  bodies,  and  invest  objects  more  or  less 
distant — furniture,  walls,  houses,  trees,  the  heavens,  etc.  This 
is  why,  when  we  afterwards  reflect  upon  them,  we  do  not  refer 
them  to  ourselves  ;  they  are  removed,  they  are  detached  from 
us,  so  as  to  appear  to  have  no  connection  with  ourselves. 

The  color  we  see  is  not  in  the  object,  nor  in  the  luminous 
rays  which  emanate  from  it ;  for  in  a  great  many  instances  we 
perceive  it  when  the  object  is  absent  and  when  the  luminous 
rays  are  wanting.  The  presence  of  the  object  and  of  its  lu- 
minous rays  contribute  only  indirectly  to  its  reproduction ; 
its  direct,  necessary,  and  sufiicient  condition  is  excitation 
of  the  retina,  or,  more  correctly,  of  the  visual  centre  of  the 
brain.  It  is  of  little  moment  whether  this  excitation  be  pro- 
duced by  a  stream  of  luminous  rays  or  otherwise.  It  does 
not  signify  whether  it  is,  or  is  not,  spontaneous.  Whatever 
may  be  its  cause,  so  soon  as  it  takes  place  color  is  born,  and 
at  the  same  time  that  which  we  call  the  visual  image.     Color 

233 


THE    UNKNOWN 

and  the  visual  image  have  their  origin  within  us,  not  in  any- 
thing external  to  ourselves.  All  optic  physiology  rests  on 
this  principle.  It  is  a  result  of  our  own  organization  that 
sight,  hearing,  the  observations  that  we  make  of  a  thing  or  of 
a  person  are  all  due  to  cerebral  impressions,  and  consequently, 
in  order  that  we  may  see,  hear,  and  touch  a  person,  it  is  neces- 
sary (and  it  is  sufficient)  that  our  brain  be  impressed  by  a 
vibratory  movement  that  gives  it  an  adequate  sensation  as 
the  result  obtained.  ^ 

The  brain,  to  which  all  sensations  lead,  possesses  thousands 
of  millions  of  afferent  nerves,  of  efferent  nerves,  and  of  inter- 
cellular nerves,  connecting  different  cells;  it  is  by  means  of 
all  these  that  nervous  impulses  are  distributed  along  thou- 
sands of  millions  of  distinct  and  independent  roads.  Myriads 
of  cells  and  of  nerves  are  concerned  in  the  establishment  of 
all  complicated  communications.  This  has  been  proved  by 
microscopic  observation,  by  vivisection,  and  by  pathological 
experiments.  The  axis  of  the  spinal  cord  is  a  long  tract  of 
gray  matter,  containing  sixty-two  distinct  groups  of  definite 
nerve  centres,  distributed  in  thirty-one  pairs;  these  centres 
are  capable  of  activity  by  reflex  action,  even  after  the  head 
has  been  removed.  Dr.  Eobin  experimented  on  a  man  who 
had  been  beheaded ;  he  scratched  the  right  side  of  the  chest 
with  a  lancet,  and  observed  the  arm  upon  that  side  to  be  raised, 
while  the  hand  was  directed  towards  the  spot  irritated,  as  if 
to  execute  a  movement  of  defence.  Dr.  Kuss  amputated  the 
head  of  a  rabbit,  using  blunt  scissors  in  order  that  the  con- 
sequent laceration  of  the  soft  parts  might  prevent  hemor- 
rhage ;  the  headless  animal  was  then  observed  to  spring  up 
and  run  round  the  room  with  a  perfectly  regular  locomotive 
movement.  Our  vital  mechanisms  are  interrelated  and  sub- 
ordinated one  to  another;  they  represent  altogether,  not  a 
republic  of  equals,  but  a  hierarchy  of  officers,  and  the  system 
of  nervous  centres  in  the  spinal  cord  and  brain  resembles  a 
system  of  administrative  powers  in  a  state.  It  may  be  com- 
pared with  a  telegraphic  office  which  puts  all  the  depart- 

*  H.  Taine,  De  VmteUigence,  vol.  11.,  p.  139. 
234 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

ments  in  commnnication  with  Paris  and  all  the  prefets  with 

the  ministers;  it  transmits  information  and  receives  orders. 
A  wave  of  molecular  change  is  transmitted  along  the  course 
of  a  nerve  cord  with  a  rapidity  equal  to  thirty-four  metres  a 
second  for  sensory  nerves,  and  twenty-seven  metres  for  motor 
nerves.  When  this  wave  reaches  the  cells  in  our  brain  it  ex- 
cites there  a  still  greater  molecular  change.  In  no  other 
part  of  the  organic  tissues  is  there  such  rapid  use  and  re- 
pair ;  and  nowhere  is  there  such  activity,  nor  so  great  a 
liberation  of  energy.  We  may  make  use  of  Taine's  compar- 
ison of  the  nerve-cell  to  a  little  powder  magazine,  which 
takes  fire  and  explodes  whenever  it  receives  a  stimulus  from 
an  afferent  nerve,  and  then  transmits  the  stimulus  greatly  in- 
creased and  strengthened  to  the  efferent  nerve.  Such  is  ner- 
vous disturbance  from  a  mechanical  point  of  view.  From  a 
physical  point  of  view  it  is  a  combustion  of  nervous  substance 
which  liberates  heat.  From  a  chemical  point  of  view  it  is  a 
decomposition  of  nervous  matter  which  loses  its  fat  and  its 
neurine  in  the  process.  From  a  physiological  point  of  view 
it  is  the  activity  of  an  organ  which,  like  all  organs,  is  exhaust- 
ed by  its  own  activity  and  requires  to  be  restored  by  the  blood 
in  order  to  continue  its  functions.  But  all  these  different 
points  of  view  only  succeed  in  showing  us  abstract  character- 
istics and  general  results;  we  do  not  grasp  essentials,  nor  do 
we  understand  those  details  which  would  be  apparent  to  us  if 
we  were  able,  by  means  of  our  eyes,  or  by  the  use  of  micro- 
scopes of  greater  magnifying  power,  to  follow  the  actual  course 
of  events  from  beginning  to  end  and  from  one  point  to  an- 
other of  their  progress.  From  this,  which  is  the  historic 
and  graphic  point  of  view,  the  activity  of  the  cell  is  certainly 
an  internal  movement  of  its  molecules,  which  we  can  compare 
with  accuracy  to  a  figure  in  a  dance ;  each  one  of  these  nu- 
merous and  different  molecules  describes  a  line  of  definite 
length  and  form,  with  a  definite  rapidity,  after  which  each 
returns  to  its  original  place,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  ex- 
hausted dancers,  who,  being  unable  to  continue,  withdraw, 
and  yield  their  places  to  fresh  recruits  by  whom  the  figure 
can  be  executed  anew. 

235 


THE    UNKNOWN 

This,  so  far  as  we  can  conjecture,  is  the  physiological  act 
of  which  sensation  is  the  mental  accompaniment. 

All  facts  relating  to  the  production  and  association  of 
ideas  can  be  explained  by  the  occurrence  of  vibrations  of 
the  brain  and  of  the  nervous  system  which  originates  in 
the  brain  ;  this  was  demonstrated  by  David  Hartley  in  the 
last  century.  We  have  shown  such  to  be  the  case  for  the 
acoustic  nerve.  A  well  known  experiment  by  Sauveur  shows 
that  not  only  does  a  sonorous  cord  vibrate  along  its  whole 
extent,  but  that  each  of  its  halves,  each  of  its  thirds,  of  its 
quarters,  its  fifths,  and  its  sixths,  etc.,  vibrate  separately. 
A  similar  phenomenon  may  possibly  occur  in  the  vibration  of 
the  fibres  of  the  brain,  and  if  this  is  the  case,  the  relation  of 
these  fibres  would  be  analogous  to  that  of  harmonic  sounds. 
A  vibration  due  to  an  idea  would  be  accompanied  by  corre- 
sponding vibrations  for  connected  ideas  ;  and  the  fact  of 
connection,  whether  by  reason  of  the  actual  vicinity  of  the 
fibres  concerned,  or  in  consequence  of  the  attraction  caused 
by  currents  simultaneously  set  in  action,  would  result  in  a 
phenomenon  of  the  same  kind  as  electro-dynamic  induction. 
All  thought  and  all  association  of  ideas,  whatever  may  be 
their  mode  of  production,  represent  a  cerebral  movement,  a 
vibration  of  a  physical  kind.  All  memory  is  determined  by 
a  molecular  movement  analogous  to  that  which  determined 
the  original  thought. 

The  vibrations  of  psychic  action  at  a  distance  also  explain 
the  occurrences  of  telepathy.  It  is  not  an  hallucination, 
but  a  real  psychic  impression. 

If  a  certain  note,  b  flat,  for  instance,  is  sounded  in  a  room, 
whether  it  be  by  the  voice  or  the  violin,  or  in  any  other  man- 
ner, the  string  belonging  to  b  flat  on  a  piano  near  at  hand 
will  vibrate  and  resound,  while  all  the  other  eighty-four 
strings  will  remain  mute.  If  the  other  strings  were  capable 
of  thought,  they  would  probably,  on  remarking  the  agitation 
of  the  b  flat  string,  consider  it  to  be  an  hallucination,  a  ner- 
vous excitement,  an  imagination,  because  they  themselves 
were  insensible  to  the  transmitted  movement,  and  therefore 
did  not  understand  it. 

236 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

Every  sensation  corresponds  to  a  vibration  in  the  brain,  to 
a  movement  of  the  cerebral  molecules,  just  as  every  idea 
does.  And  reciprocally  every  cerebral  vibration  gives  birth 
to  a  sensation,  to  an  idea,  both  in  the  waking  condition  and 
in  dreams.  The  admission  that  a  vibration  transmitted  and 
received  gives  birth  to  a  psychic  sensation  is  perfectly  natural. 

An  idea,  an  impression,  a  mental  commotion,  while  entirely 
internal,  can  produce  in  another  direction  physiological  effects 
more  or  less  intense,  and  is  even  capable  of  causing  death. 
Examples  are  not  wanting  of  persons  dying  suddenly  in  con- 
sequence of  emotion.  The  power  which  imagination  is  capa- 
ble of  exercising  over  life  itself  has  long  been  established. 
The  experiment  performed  in  the  last  century  in  England 
on  a  man  condemned  to  death,  who  was  made  the  subject  of 
a  study  of  this  kind  by  medical  men,  is  well  known.  The 
subject  of  the  experiment  was  fastened  securely  to  a  table 
with  strong  straps,  his  eyes  were  bandaged,  and  he  was  then 
told  that  he  was  to  be  bled  from  the  neck  until  every  drop 
of  his  blood  had  been  drained.  After  this  an  insignificant 
puncture  was  made  in  his  skin  with  the  point  of  a  needle, 
and  a  siphon  arranged  near  his  head  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
allow  a  continuous  stream  of  water  to  flow  over  his  neck  and 
fall  with  a  slight  sound  into  a  basin  placed  on  the  floor.  At 
the  end  of  six  minutes  the  condemned  man,  believing  that  he 
had  lost  at  least  seven  or  eight  quarts  of  blood,  died  of  terror. 

Another  instance  is  the  case  of  a  college  janitor,  who  had 
incurred  the  dislike  of  the  students  under  his  charge.  Some 
of  these  young  men  took  possession  of  him  and  shut  him  up 
in  a  distant  room,  where  they  held  a  mock  trial  and  passed 
sentence  upon  him.  They  recounted  all  his  offences,  and 
they  judged  that  death  alone  could  expiate  them,  the  pen- 
alty to  be  inflicted  by  decapitation.  They  then  proceeded 
to  bring  forth  an  axe  and  a  log  of  wood,  which  they  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  room ;  they  informed  the  condemned 
man  that  he  had  three  minutes  in  which  to  repent  of  his 
misdeeds  and  make  his  peace  with  Heaven.  When  the  three 
minutes  had  expired  they  bandaged  his  eyes,  and  forced  him 
to  kneel  down  before  the  log  of  wood  with  his  neck  bared, 

237 


THE    UNKNOWN 

after  which  the  executioner  gave  him  a  smart  blow  on  the 
neck  with  a  wet  towel,  telling  him,  with  a  laugh,  to  get  up. 
To  the  extreme  surprise  of  all  present,  the  man  did  not 
move.     They  shook  him ;  they  felt  his  pulse — he  was  dead. 

Again,  an  English  journal,  the  Lancet,  has  more  recently 
published  the  case  of  a  young  woman,  who,  wishing  to  put 
an  end  to  her  existence,  swallowed  a  certain  quantity  of  in- 
sect powder,  after  which  she  lay  down  on  her  bed,  where  she 
was  found  dead.  There  was  an  inquest  and  an  autopsy.  An 
analysis  of  the  powder  found  in  the  stomach  showed  that  it 
was  absolutely  harmless  in  the  case  of  human  beings.  Never- 
theless, the  young  woman  was  stooe  dead.' 

My  scientific  friend,  Charles  Richat,  reports  (in  the  Revue 
des  Deux  Mondes,  LXXVI,  1886,  p.  79)  a  case  in  which  his 
father  was  to  operate  for  stone  in  the  bladder  on  a  patient  in 
the  Hotel  Dieu  ;  but  the  patient  died  of  fright  just  as  the 
surgeon  finished  tracing  with  his  finger  a  line  on  the  skin 
which  the  incision  was  to  follow. 

All  these  psychic  and  physiological  facts  assist  us  to  under- 
stand telepathy. 

An  investigation  such  as  this,  which  treats  of  the  explana- 
tion of  phenomena  so  strange,  cannot,  of  course,  proceed 
without  arousing  numerous  objections.  The  first  of  these 
objections  is  that  dying  manifestations  not  only  are  not  al- 
ways present,  but  they  are  not  even  frequent,  they  are  ex- 
ceptional ;  and,  moreover,  they  fail  to  occur  in  circumstances 
which  would  seem  specially  calculated  to  induce  them — as, 
for  instance,  when  a  violent  death  separates  two  persons  who 
were  tenderly  united,  or  when  a  tragedy  destroys  several  lives 
at  once.  Even  when  the  person  who  dies  has  himself  prom- 
ised, hoped,  desired  to  give  some  proof  of  his  existence  after 
death  to  the  survivors,  the  manifestations  are  often  absent. 
We  can,  of  course,  reply  to  this  objection  that  we  are  ignorant 
in  what  manner  these  manifestations  are  produced,  that  there 
are  unknown  laws,  difficulties,  impossibilities,  that  two  brains 
must  be  in  harmony,  must  be  synchronous  to  vibrate  under 

*  See  A.  Rochas,  Les  Forces  non  definiea. 
238 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

the  same  influence,  that  the  intimate  union  of  two  hearts 
does  not  prove  the  synchronous  action  of  two  brains,  etc. 
But  as  the  events  in  question  take  place  sometimes  in  very- 
ordinary  cases  the  objection  still  remains,  and  is  a  very 
grave  one. 

Yes — very  grave.  Several  times  during  my  life  has  ray 
own  soul  been  torn  by  sudden  separation  from  one  whom  I 
loved.  In  my  youth  an  intimate  friend,  a  classmate,  died, 
having  promised  me  to  prove  his  survival  after  death,  if  it 
was  possible.  We  had  so  often  discussed  the  question  to- 
gether! Later,  one  of  my  dearest  colleagues  of  the  press 
proposed  the  same  compact  to  me,  and  I  accepted  it  with  joy. 
Later  still,  a  person  who  was  particularly  dear  to  me  vanished 
from  my  life  at  the  very  moment  when  this  problem  of  a 
future  life  was  moving  us  both  passionately,  and  even  while 
giving  me  the  positive  assurance  that  his  sole  and  only  desire 
was  that  his  premature  death  should  be  the  means  of  de- 
monstrating this  truth.  And  never,  never,  in  spite  of  my  at- 
tempts, in  spite  of  my  desire,  in  spite  of  my  vows,  have  I  re- 
ceived any  manifestation   whatever  from   him.     Nothing  ; 

NOTHING  ;   NOTHING  ! 

Some  years  ago  I  lost  my  father.  I  was  by  his  side,  and  I 
was  in  no  incredulous  attitude  of  mind.  But  no  message 
reached  me,  then  or  afterwards. 

I  cherished  the  tenderest  affection  for  my  grandfather  and 
my  great-aunt ;  I  loved  them  madly  ;  indeed,  my  affection 
for  them  is  still  so  intense  that  it  has  been  absolutely  impos- 
sible to  me  to  go  to  the  grave  where  they  now  repose ;  long 
before  I  reached  the  little  country  graveyard  I  was  suffoca- 
ted and  blinded  by  sobs,  and  my  knees  gave  way  under  me. 
Yet  they  have  never  manifested  themselves  to  me  in  any  man- 
ner, neither  at  the  moment  of  death,  nor  since  their  departure 
from  this  earth. 

Evidently  my  brain  is  not  adapted  to  the  reception  of  this 
kind  of  wave,  either  from  the  living  or  from  the  dead.  No 
influence  whatever  reaches  me  from  the  dying,  and  no  com- 
munication has  come  to  me  from  the  dead. 

But  an  investigator,  like  an  historian,  should  remain  im- 

239 


THE    UNKNOWN 

partial,  and  we  must  not  allow  onrselves  to  be  influenced  by 
our  own  sensations.  Truth,  fairness,  honesty,  must  be  our 
first  consideration. 

Another  objection,  to  which  we  have  already  alluded,  is 
that  some  of  the  manifestations  are  of  an  unexpected  charac- 
ter. If  the  action  of  one  mind  upon  another  is  possible  from 
a  distance,  why  should  it  manifest  itself  in  such  ways  as 
opening  or  closing  a  window,  raising  a  bed,  knocking  on  the 
furniture,  rolling  a  ball  across  the  floor,  causing  hinges  to 
creak,  etc.  ?  It  would  seem  as  if  such  manifestations  ought 
to  be  of  a  psychic  and  moral  kind,  such  as  the  sound  of  a  be- 
loved voice  or  the  appearance  of  one  who  has  been  taken 
from  us. 

This  objection  is  of  less  weight  than  the  preceding  one. 
A  great  number  of  manifestations  do  consist  of  things  seen 
or  heard.  In  other  cases  it  is  possible  to  suppose  that  a  dis- 
turbance produced  in  the  brain  of  the  dying  is  transmitted 
to  certain  cells  and  certain  fibres  of  another  brain,  and  then 
determines  in  this  cerebral  zone  some  form  of  illusion  or  im- 
pression other  than  the  original  one.  An  advancing  wave, 
whether  of  light  or  of  heat,  of  electricity  or  of  magnetism, 
crosses  some  object  on  its  way — for  example,  a  sponge — and 
meets  with  differences  of  resistance  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  sponge,  the  variations  of  density,  the  mineral  sub- 
stances which  it  holds  in  suspension,  etc.;  and  each  part  of 
the  sponge  receives  a  different  impression.  The  apparent 
caprices  of  lightning  present  peculiarities  no  less  striking. 
At  one  time  a  stroke  of  lightning  sets  fire  to  a  man  and  he 
blazes  like  a  sheaf  of  straw ;  at  another  it  reduces  a  pair  of 
hands  to  ashes,  leaving  the  gloves  intact ;  it  fuses  the  links  of 
an  iron  chain  as  the  fire  of  a  forge  would  do,  and  on  the 
other  hand  it  kills  a  huntsman  without  discharging  the  gun 
which  he  holds  in  his  hand;  it  melts  an  ear-ring  without 
burning  the  skin;  it  consumes  a  person's  clothing  without 
doing  him  the  slightest  injury,  or  perhaps  it  only  destroys 
his  shoes  or  his  hat;  it  photographs  on  the  breast  of  a  boy 
an  egg  which  he  has  taken  from  the  top  of  a  tree  that  it  has 
struck ;  it  gilds  the  pieces  of  silver  in  a  pocket-book  byelectro- 

240 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

plating  from  one  compartment  to  another  without  the  owner 
being  aware  of  it.  It  demolishes  a  wall  six  or  eight  feet 
thick  in  a  moment,  or  burns  a  chateau  a  hundred  years  old; 
yet  it  will  strike  a  powder  factory  without  causing  an  ex- 
plosion. The  effects  or  non-effects  of  lightning  present  pe- 
culiarities far  more  inexplicable  than  those  of  telepathic 
manifestations. 

It  is  our  duty  not  to  shut  our  eyes  to  any  objection  in  a 
search  after  truth.  Those  which  I  have  just  brought  forward 
are  not  incompatible  with  the  facts  that  exist;  and  the  only 
explanation  of  these  facts  appears  to  me  to  lie  in  the  action 
of  one  mind  upon  another  at  a  distance  from  it. 

Now  let  us  go  a  little  further.  Do  there  exist,  outside  of 
the  order  of  subjects  which  we  have  just  examined,  any  in- 
stances which  tend  to  prove  the  probability  or  the  actuality 
of  psychic  force  ?  Does  the  evidence  of  the  senses  afford  ex- 
perimental and  undeniable  proofs  of  thought  transmission  9 

Yes.  These  proofs  we  shall  now  proceed  to  pass  in  review, 
in  order  to  prove  them  and  to  demonstrate  them,  for  with 
this  kind  of  investigation  it  is  necessary  to  make  assurance 
doubly  sure. 

First  of  all,  then,  as  regards  the  phenomenon  of  animal 
magnetism. 

I  have  assisted  at  a  large  number  of  experiments  in  hyp- 
notic suggestion,  in  particular  those  by  Dr.  Puel,  Dr.  Char- 
cot, Dr.  Barety,  Dr.  Luys,  Dr.  Dumontpallier,  and  others, 
but  I  will  not  discuss  them — not  because  I  doubt  the  reality 
of  suggestion  and  auto-suggestion,  but  because  they  are  so 
well  known  that  it  is  superfluous  to  go  into  them. 

In  this  kind  of  investigation  there  are  a  certain  number  of 
doubtful  or  even  of  fraudulent  experiments,  the  subjects  of 
which  have  themselves  exposed  them  to  me  by  their  reciprocal 
accusations  and  by  their  admissions.  Imposition  is  very  fre- 
quent in  this  kind  of  experiment.  I  will  cite  only  one  ex- 
ample. Dr.  Luys  was  in  the  habit  of  exhibiting  to  a  subject, 
supposed  to  be  asleep,  certain  phials  which  he  placed  upon  her 
neck.  These  phials  contained  different  substances,  such  as 
pure  water,  brandy,  absinthe,  castor-oil,  essence  of    thyme, 

241 


THE    UNKNOWN 

cherry  water,  ammonia,  ether,  essence  of  violets,  etc.  The 
subject  invariably  stated  correctly  what  each  phial  contained, 
and  sometimes  manifested  symptoms  corresponding  to  its 
action.  Unhappily  for  the  value  of  the  experiment,  the 
doctor  always  presented  the  flasks  in  the  same  order — at  least 
in  the  experiments  at  which  I  was  present.  One  day  I  begged 
him  to  reverse  this  order  without  mentioning  the  change. 
He  declined  to  do  so,  and  told  me  that  we  ought  not  to  doubt 
the  subject's  honesty.  This  subject  was  an  hysterical  young 
girl,  an  actress  at  one  of  the  theatres.  I  returned  from  Ivery 
in  her  company,  and  it  did  not  take  long  to  enlighten  me  in 
regard  to  her  sincerity,  and  that  of  her  accomplices  in  the  ex- 
periment. 

It  is  necessary  to  exercise  constant  supervision  in  experi- 
ments of  this  kind,  in  order  to  place  any  confidence  in  them. 
We  must  be  sure  that  odors  do  not  escape  from  the  stoppers 
of  bottles,  especially  ethereal  odors;  that  the  subject  is  really 
unaware  of  the  nature  of  their  contents;  that  the  experi- 
menter cannot  give  any  suggestion;  and  that  he  is  himself 
ignorant  of  what  the  flasks  contain.* 

No  time  must  be  wasted  in  examining  cases  which  are  not 
well  established,  for  nothing  is  more  foolish  than  such  loss  of 
time.  Life  is  too  short  for  it.  We  must  not  select,  nor  con- 
sider, nor  examine  any  reported  observations  that  are  not 
fully  established.  And  we  must  avoid  anything  outside  our 
subject,  which  is  the  demonstration  of  psychic  action — that  is, 
the  mental  influence  of  one  mind  on  another. 

We  shall  first  consider  somnambulism.  Here,  to  begin 
with,  is  a  deposition  giving  three  cases  of  mental  suggestion, 
obtained  by  M.  Guiata  and  Liebault,  at  the  residence  of  the 
latter,  on  January  9,  1886  :' 

*This  extraneous  action  of  toxic,  therapeutic  and  metallic  substances 
on  sensitive  subjects  is  well  established.  See  Bourru  and  Buret,  La 
suggestion  mentale  et  Taction  a  distance,  Paris,  1887.  This  article  con- 
tains the  record  of  numerous  experiments  conducted  with  absolute  scien* 
tific  accuracy. 

^  Dr.  Liebault :  Le  Sommeil  provoque  et  Us  etats  analogues,  Nouv. 
id.,  1889,  p.  297. 

243 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

''  We,  the  undersigned,  Ambroise  Liebault,  doctor  of  medi- 
cine, and  Stanislas  Guaita,  author,  both  at  present  in  resi- 
dence at  Nancy,  do  witness  and  certify  to  the  following 
results : 

*'(!)  Mademoiselle  Louise  L.,  while  under  the  influence 
of  a  hypnotic  sleep,  was  informed  that  she  would  be  expected 
to  answer  a  question  put  to  her  mentally,  without  word  or 
sign.  Dr.  Liebault  then  placed  his  hand  upon  the  subject's 
forehead,  and,  collecting  his  thoughts,  concentrated  his  own 
attention  on  the  question  he  wished  to  put  to  her ;  '  When 
will  you  be  cured?' 

'*  The  lips  of  the  sleeper  moved  suddenly. 

'^ '  Soon,'  she  murmured  distinctly. 

*'  She  was  then  asked  to  repeat  before  all  present  the  ques- 
tion which  had  been  asked  of  her  mentally,  and  she  repeated 
it  in  the  same  terms  in  which  it  had  been  formulated  in  the 
mind  of  the  experimenter. 

"  (2)  M.  de  Guaita,  having  placed  himself  in  communica- 
tion with  the  subject,  put  another  question  to  her  mentally: 

''  '  Shall  you  return  next  week  ?' 

*'  *  Perhaps,'  was  the  subject's  answer. 

"  On  being  asked  to  state  the  mental  question  to  the  per- 
sons present,  the  subject  replied : 

^'  'You  asked  me  if  you  would  return  next  week.' 

'^  The  confusion  resulting  from  the  misapprehension  of  one 
word  in  this  sentence  is  very  interesting.  The  subject  had, 
as  it  were,  stumbled  in  reading  the  brain  of  the  magnetizer. 

"  (3)  Dr.  Liebault,  without  uttering  any  audible  sen- 
tence, even  in  a  low  voice,  wrote  on  a  slip  of  paper : 

''  '  When  mademoiselle  awakes  she  will  see  her  black  hat 
changed  into  a  red  one.' 

*^  The  slip  of  paper  was  circulated  among  the  witnesses. 
Then  Dr.  Liebault  and  Monsieur  Guaita  placed  their  hands 
on  the  subject's  forehead,  and  formulated  mentally  the  phrase 
agreed  upon.  The  young  girl,  having  thus  been  informed 
mentally  that  she  would  see  something  unusual  in  the  room, 
was  awakened.  She  fixed  her  eyes  at  once,  and  without  hesi- 
tation, on  her  hat,  and  cried  out  with  an  outburst  of  laughter 

243 


THE    UNKNOWN 

that  it  was  not  her  hat  ;  she  would  not  own  it.  She  admit 
ted  that  the  shape  was  the  same ;  but  the  joke  was  carried 
too  far,  and  she  insisted  on  having  her  property  returned 
to  her. 

*' '  But  what  do  you  wish  changed  ?' 

"  'You  know  very  well.     You  have  eyes  as  well  as  1/ 

'''But  what  is  it  T 

"  Considerable  pressing  was  required  before  she  would  con- 
sent to  say  in  what  respect  her  hat  was  changed,  for  she 
thought  she  was  '  eing  laughed  at.  At  last,  urged  by  ques- 
tions, she  said: 

"  '  You  see  very  well  that  this  hat  is  red.' 

"  As  she  refused  to  accept  the  hat,  it  was  necessary  to  put 
an  end  to  her  hallucination  by  telling  her  that  it  would  re- 
turn to  its  original  color.  Dr.  Liebault  breathed  on  the  hat, 
and  as  it  was  then  transformed  into  her  own  hat  before  her 
eyes,  she  consented  to  accept  it. 

"  Such  are  the  results  which  we  have  together  obtained, 
and  to  which  we  certify.  In  testimony  whereof  we  have 
drawn  up  the  present  deposition. 

"Stanislas  de  Guaita,  A.  A.  Liebault.*' 

Mental  suggestion  has  for  some  years  been  made  the  object 
of  very  important  investigations,  at  the  head  of  which  stands 
the  work  of  Dr.  Ochorowicz.  We  extract  some  characteristic 
experiences  from  the  book : 

"  Monsieur  de  la  Souchere,  formerly  a  student  at  the  Ecole 
Polytechnique,  and  now  a  scientific  chemist  residing  at  Mar- 
seilles, had  as  servant  a  country  girl,  upon  whom  he  was  able 
to  produce  several  remarkable  phenomena  with  the  greatest 
ease,  including  that  of  somnambulism.  'When  Lazarine  was 
in  a  condition  of  somnambulism,' he  said,  'she  entered  into  per- 
fect communion  of  thought  with  me.  Her  sensibilities  were 
at  the  same  time  so  completely  suspended  that  I  stuck  needles 
in  her  flesh,  and  under  her  nails,  without  causing  in  her  the 
least  pain,  and  without  the  loss  of  a  single  drop  of  blood.  In 
the  presence  of  Gabriel,  an  engineer,  and  some  friends,  I  per- 
formed the  following  experiments :  I  made  her  drink  pure 

244 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

water,  and  she  told  me  that  it  had  for  her  whatever  flavor  I 
chose  it  to  have — lemonade,  syrup,  wine,  etc.  I  was  requested 
to  give  her  sand  to  taste.  She  could  not  guess  what  it  was. 
I  put  some  of  the  sand  in  my  own  mouth  and  immediately 
she  began  to  reject  it,  crying  out  that  I  had  given  her  sand. 
I  was  behind  her  at  the  time,  and  it  was  impossible  for  her  to 
see  me.'" 

An  experiment  similar  to  this,  but  still  more  remarkable, 
is  given  by  the  Comte  de  Maricourt.  The  subject  having 
drunk,  in  the  waking  state,  one  glass  of  cherry  brandy,  mani- 
fested all  the  symptoms  of  intoxication,  which  lasted  several 
days.  It  is  this  class  of  phenomena  which  have  made  persons 
with  magnetic  power  believe  that  they  can,  by  magnetizing  a 
glass  of  water,  or  some  other  inanimate  object,  impregnate 
the  fluid  with  different  physical  and  chemical  qualities.  Mag- 
netization is  useless  here,  for  it  is  not  the  object  with  which 
we  are  concerned,  tut  the  thought,  which  acts  on  the  train  of 
the  subject. 

"  Some  one,''  says  Monsieur  de  la  Souchere,  ^'  sent  me  a 
book;  it  was  Robinson  Crusoe.  I  opened  it  and  saw  a  picture 
of  Robinson  in  a  canoe.  Lazarine,  when  asked  what  I  was 
doing,  answered: 

"  '  You  have  a  book,  but  are  not  reading  it;  there  is  a  boat 
and  a  man  in  it.' 

^'I  told  her  to  describe  to  me  the  furniture  of  a  room  with 
which  she  was  not  acquainted,  and  she  enumerated  the  arti- 
cles of  furniture  successively,  just  as  I  represented  them  to 
myself.  I  have  never  observed  the  transposition  of  the  senses 
in  my  subjects.  When  different  substances  were  applied  to 
her  epigastrium,  she  would  recognize  them  only  when  I  knew 
what  they  were.  If  I  was  in  ignorance  of  their  nature  she 
could  not  guess  it.  She  was  only  affected  through  thought 
transmission.  Possibly,  some  of  the  cases  which  have  been 
attributed  to  transposition  of  the  senses  are  in  reality  the  re- 
sult of  thought  transmission." 

Dr.  Texte  has  several  times  shown  that  it  is  possible  for  a 
person  in  the  somnambulistic  state  to  follow  the  thought  of 
the  magnetizer. 

245 


THE    UNKNOWN 

**  Mademoiselle  Diana,"  he  said,  ''followed  a  conversation 
d  uring  which  I  expressed  myself  only  mentally.  She  answered 
tlie  questions  which  I  addressed  to  her  in  this  manner." 

He  also  cites  a  remarkable  experiment,  in  which  mental 
suggestion  manifested  itself  as  an  hallucination. 

''  One  day  I  imagined  myself  to  be  surrounded  by  a  wooden 
wall ;  hut  I  said  nothing  of  this.  I  put  Mademoiselle  H.,  a 
young  and  very  nervous  woman,  into  the  somnambulistic 
state,  and  I  requested  her  to  bring  me  my  books.  When  she 
reached  the  place  where  I  imagined  the  wall  to  be,  she 
stopped,  saying  that  she  could  not  advance. 

'' '  What  a  strange  idea,'  she  said,  '  to  have  put  an  ob- 
struction there  V 

''  When  an  attempt  was  made  to  force  her  to  pass  it  by 
taking  her  hand,  her  feet  remained  glued  to  the  floor,  the 
upper  part  of  her  body  leaned  forward,  and  she  said  that  her 
abdomen  was  being  pushed  against  the  obstacle." 

If  a  person  in  the  somnambulistic  state  believes  that  he 
sees  something  outside  of  ordinary  conditions,  it  is  necessary, 
generally  speaking,  to  ascertain  whether  his  hallucination  is 
not  simply  the  result  of  an  involuntary  suggestion  on  our 
own  part. 

''  A  medical  student  asked  one  of  my  somnambulistic  sub- 
jects what  cases  of  illness  the  faculty  would  give  him  for 
diagnosis  in  his  examination  for  his  degree  in  medicine. 
She  described  with  great  clearness  three  cases  in  the  Hotel 
Dieu  which  had  specially  attracted  the  attention  of  the  stu- 
dent, and  which  he  himself  wished  to  be  the  subjects  of  his 
examination.  She  even  added  a  detail  which  characterized 
one  of  the  subjects. 

'' '  Oh,  what  a  brilliant  eye  that  woman  has  ;  and  how  fixed 
...  it  frightens  me  .  .  .  that  eye  V 

'' '  Do  you  see  the  shining  eye  T  asked  the  student. 
'' '  Wait  ...  I  do  not  know  ...  the  eye  is  so  hard  ...  it 
is  not  natural.' 

'' '  What  is  the  eye  made  of  ?' 

"  '  Of  something  brittle  and  shining.  Oh !  ...  she  takes 
it  out .  .  .  she  puts  it  into  water  .  .  .  ,'  etc. 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

"  The  sick  woman  in  question  had  a  glass  eye ;  and  this 
fact,  of  which  I  was  absolutely  ignorant,  since  I  knew  noth- 
ing of  the  sick  person  spoken  of,  was  known  to  the  student 
who  put  the  interrogations  to  the  subject,  and  it  had  been 
exactly  described  by  her.  Whence  did  she  receive  the  im- 
pression ?  From  the  mind  of  the  interrogator,  reflected 
through  the  medium  of  mine. 

''It  is  only  fair  to  add  that  the  predictions  of  the  subject 
were  not  verified.  On  the  day  of  his  examination  the  student 
was  given  entirely  different  cases  for  diagnosis,  and  he  was 
not  even  asked  a  question  in  regard  to  those  described  by  the 
subject.'* 

Dr.  Charpignon  is  of  opinion  that  vision  at  a  distance  is 
often  confounded  with  thought  transmission.  Thus  in  the 
greater  number  of  the  experiments  just  cited,  the  somnam- 
bulist was  asked  to  go  into  the  house  of  the  experimenter,  or 
into  some  place  with  which  the  experimenter  was  familiar. 
The  somnambulist  often  describes  to  the  experimenter,  with 
whom  he  is  in  communication,  places  and  objects  with  the 
utmost  exactness.  But  in  many  cases  this  is  not  due  to  real 
vision.  The  subject  perceives  in  the  mind  of  the  experi- 
menter the  images  which  the  latter  has  conceived.* 

The  well  -  known  prestidigitator,  Eobert  Houdin,  was  in- 
terested in  these  subjects.  By  means  of  an  ingenious  trick 
he  succeeded  in  counterfeiting  both  double  vision  and 
thought  transmission.  He  was  incredulous  as  to  the  evi- 
dences of  somnambulism,  for  being  accustomed  to  perform 
wonders  himself  he  had  very  little  belief  in  the  supernatural, 
and  was  convinced  of  the  existence  of  some  trick.  Like 
others,  he  regarded  all  the  splendid  manifestations  of  clair- 
voyance as  legerdemain  of  the  same  kind,  like  that  with 
which  he  himself  amused  the  public.  In  several  cities  where 
somnambulism  had  some  success,  he  amused  himself  by  imi- 
tating the  exhibitions  of  it,  and  even  exceeding  them. 
M.  De  Mirville,  the  celebrated  demonologist,  who  subordi- 
nates   somnambulism  in  his  theory  to  the  importance   of 

*  Physiologie  du  Magnetisme,  p.  99. 
247" 


THE    UNKNOWN 

infernal  spirits,  was  very  desirous  to  convert  so  redoubta- 
ble au  adversary.  It  seemed  to  M.  De  Mirville,  with  much 
reason,  that  if  he  could  succeed  in  convincing  Houdin 
that  clairvoyance  belonged  to  a  class  of  subjects  entirely 
outside  his  own  theories  and  practice,  the  opinion  to  that 
effect  of  so  expert  a  judge  would  be  a  heavy  weight  on  the 
other  side  of  the  question. 

M.  De  Mirville  has  described  in  his  book,  Des  Bsprits, 
the  scene  that  occurred  when  he  took  Houdin  to  the  house 
of  the  celebrated  somnambulist  Alexis. 

Morin,  who  is  the  author  of  a  witty  but  sceptical  book  on 
hypnotism,  states  that  Robert  Houdin  himself  confirmed  the 
accuracy  of  M.  De  Mirville's  account. 

'^'I  was  confounded,"  said  the  magician,  ''  for  there  was  no 
trick,  nor  sleight  of  hand  in  it.  What  I  witnessed  was  the 
exhibition  of  a  superior  and  inconceivable  faculty,  of  which 
I  had  not  the  slightest  conception,  and  in  which  I  would 
have  refused  to  believe  had  not  the  demonstration  occurred 
under  my  own  eyes.  I  was  so  much  moved  by  what  I  saw, 
that  the  sweat  poured  from  my  face." 

Among  other  experiments  the  conjurer  cited  the  following: 

''  My  wife  had  accompanied  me,  and  Alexis,  taking  her 
hands,  spoke  to  her  of  past  events,  and  in  particular  of  the 
peculiarly  sad  death  of  one  of  our  children;  all  the  circum- 
stances being  absolutely  exact." 

In  this  case  the  somnambulist  read  Madame  Houdin's  re- 
membrances in  her  mind  and  in  her  half -active  conscious- 
ness. 

Another  experiment  demonstrated  vision  and  clairvoyance 
existing  at  the  same  time,  and  both  transmitted  by  memory. 

"Dr.  Choumel,  a  very  incredulous  physician,  wished  to 
investigate  the  matter  for  himself,  and  presented  to  the  sub- 
ject a  little  box.  The  latter  felt  the  box  without  opening  it, 
and  said: 

'' '  It  contains  a  medal  which  was  given  you  under  very  pe- 
culiar circumstances.  You  were  then  a  poor  student.  You 
lived  at  Lyons,  in  an  attic.  A  workman,  to  whom  you  had 
done  a  service,  found  this  medal  in  some  rubbish,  and  think- 

24a 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

ing  that  it  might  be  acceptable  to  you,  he  climbed  up  six 
stories  to  offer  it  to  you/ 

'^  All  this  was  true ;  and  it  seemed  impossible  to  deny  that 
we  were  dealing  with  matters  which  could  not  be  explained 
by  chance.     The  physician  joined  in  our  admiration." 

It  is  possible  to  give  examples  of  vision  at  a  distance  quite 
independent  of  thought  transmission.  We  shall  take  these 
up  later,  but  at  present  it  is  important  to  preserve  certain 
essential  distinctions,  in  order  to  prevent  confusion.  What 
concerns  us  now  is  to  demonstrate  the  scientific  reality  of 
thought  transmission  and  mental  suggestion.  At  present 
we  are  occupied  only  with  verbal  suggestions — that  is,  with 
orders  given  by  the  voice  and  executed  after  a  definite  period 
of  shorter  or  longer  extent.  Let  us  therefore  continue  our 
investigations  without  going  outside  of  the  subject  under 
consideration. 

In  the  month  of  November,  1885,  M.  Paul  Janet,  of  the 
Institute,  read  before  the  Psychological  Society,  a  commu- 
nication from  his  nephew,  M.  Pierre  Janet,  professor  of  phil- 
osophy at  the  Lycee,  at  Havre,  on  So7ne  Phenomena  of  Som- 
nambulism. Under  this  title,  which  is  prudently  vague,  were 
concealed  most  extraordinary  manifestations.  It  related  to  a 
series  of  experiments  made  by  M.  Gibert  and  M.  Janet,  which 
not  only  proved  mental  suggestion  in  general,  but  mental 
suggestion  at  a  distance  of  several  miles,  and  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  subject. 

The  subject,  Leonie  B.  by  name,  was  a  respectable  coun- 
trywoman from  Brittany,  fifty  years  of  age,  healthy,  honest, 
and  very  timid.  She  was  intelligent,  but  had  had  no  educa- 
tion, not  being  able  to  write  and  scarcely  knowing  the  alph- 
abet. Her  constitution  was  strong  and  robust.  In  her 
youth  she  had  been  a  little  hysterical,  but  had  been  cured  by 
an  unknown  hypnotizer.  Since  then  it  was  only  in  the  som- 
nambulistic state,  and  when  under  some  disturbing  influence, 
that  she  manifested  any  traces  of  hysteria.  She  had  a  hus- 
band and  children,  all  of  whom  enjoyed  good  health.  It  ap- 
peared that  several  physicians  had  already  wished  to  experi- 
ment upon  her,  but  she  had  always  declined  their  overtures, 

249 


THE    UNKNOWN 

It  was  only  to  oblige  M.  Gibert  that  she  had  consented  to 
spend  some  time  at  Havre.  She  passed  into  the  sleeping 
state  very  easily.  It  was  only  necessary  to  hold  her  hand 
gently  for  several  minutes  while  willing  her  to  sleep,  and  no 
other  means  succeeded.  After  a  longer  or  a  shorter  time — 
two  to  five  minutes,  according  to  the  person  who  influenced 
her — her  glance  became  vague,  her  eyelids  were  agitated  by 
slight  and  often  very  rapid  movements,  until  the  colored  part 
of  the  eye  was  hidden  under  the  lid.  At  the  same  time  her 
chest  moved  with  difficulty,  and  she  manifested  evident 
symptoms  of  distress.  Very  often  fleeting  tremors  passed 
over  her  body,  she  breathed  a  sigh,  and  leaned  backward, 
plunged  in  a  deep  sleep. 

Dr.  Ochorowicz  made  a  journey  to  Havre  on  purpose  to  be 
present  at  these  experiments. 

"  On  the  24th  of  October/'  he  said,  "I  arrived  at  Havre, 
and  I  found  M.  Gibert  and  M.  Janet  so  convinced  of  the  re- 
ality of  action  at  a  distance  that  they  willingly  acceded  to  the 
minutest  precautions  which  I  proposed,  in  order  to  give  me 
every  opportunity  of  verifying  the  phenomenon.  A  sort  of 
committee  was  formed,  consisting  of  M.  F.  Myers  and  Dr. 
Myers,  members  for  the  Society  for  Psychical  Eesearch;  M. 
Marillin,  from  the  Psychological  Society,  and  myself.  The 
details  of  all  the  experiments  were  arranged  beforehand  by 
us  with  unanimity. 

**The  following  precautions  were  observed  in  all  the  ex- 
periments : 

**^(1)  The  exact  hour  for  the  action  at  a  distance  was 
drawn  by  lot. 

*^(2)  It  was  communicated  to  M.  Gibert  only  a  few 
minutes  before  the  time  fixed  when  the  members  of  the 
commission  met  at  the  little  cottage  where  the  subject 
lived. 

"  (3)  Neither  the  subject  nor  any  other  person  in  the  cot- 
tage, which  was  about  half  a  mile  distant  from  the  larger 
house,  had  any  knowledge  of  the  hour  fixed,  nor  even  of  the 
nature  of  the  experiment  which  was  to  take  place.  In  or- 
der to  avoid  involuntary  suggestion,  neither  I  nor  any  of 

250 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

the  gentlemen  entered  the  house  except  to  verify  the  wom- 
an's sleeping  condition. 

"  It  was  decided  to  attempt  Cagliostro's  experiment — that 
is,  to  put  the  subject  to  sleep  from  a  distance,  and  make  her 
come  across  the  town. 

"It  was  half -past  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  M.  Gibert 
agreed.  The  hour  for  the  experiment  was  drawn  by  lot,  and 
it  was  thus  determined  that  the  mental  action  was  to  begin 
at  five  minutes  to  nine,  and  last  until  nine-forty.  There 
was  no  one  in  the  cottage  except  Madame  B.  and  the  cook, 
and  they  had  no  reason  to  anticipate  an  experiment  on  our 
part.  No  one  went  into  the  cottage,  and  the  two  women, 
taking  advantage  of  their  solitude,  came  into  the  parlor,  and 
amused  themselves  by  strumming  on  the  piano. 

*^At  a  little  after  nine  we  went  to  the  neighborhood  of  the 
cottage.  All  was  silent,  and  the  street  was  deserted.  With- 
out the  slightest  noise  we  divided  ourselves  into  two  parties, 
in  order  to  watch  the  house  from  a  distance. 

"At  nine  twenty-five  I  saw  a  form  appear  at  the  garden- 
gate.  It  was  the  subject.  I  retreated  into  a  corner,  in  or- 
der to  listen  without  being  observed ;  but  I  heard  nothing. 
The  somnambulist,  after  pausing  a  moment  at  the  gate,  drew 
back  into  the  garden.  (At  this  moment  M.  Gibert^s  influence 
ceased,  owing  to  the  fact  that  his  concentration  of  thought 
resulted  in  a  kind  of  syncope  or  stupor,  which  lasted  until 
nine-thirty-five.) 

"At  nine-thirty  the  somnambulist  reappeared  on  the  thresh- 
old of  the  door.  This  time  she  advanced  into  the  street 
without  hesitation,  and  with  the  hurried  manner  of  a  person 
who  is  behind  time  and  who  is  under  obligation  to  accom- 
plish her  purpose.  The  gentlemen  waiting  in  the  road  did 
not  have  time  to  communicate  with  Dr.  Myers  and  myself. 
But  being  warned  by  rapid  footsteps,  we  began  to  follow  the 
somnambulist,  who  did  not  perceive  anything  around  her,  or 
at  least  did  not  recognize  us. 

"  When  we  arrived  at  the  Rue  du  Bard,  she  began  to  hesi- 
tate, stopped  a  moment,  and  seemed  about  to  fall.  All  at 
once  she  began  to  walk  again  quickly.     It  was  then  nine- 

251 


THE    UNKNOWN 

thirty-five,  and  at  that  moment  M.  Gibert  came  to  himself 
and  resumed  his  influence.  The  somnambulist  continued  to 
walk  rapidly,  without  showing  any  uneasiness  as  to  her  sur- 
roundings. 

**In  ten  minutes  we  were  all  at  M.  Gibert's  house,  and 
at  this  moment  he,  believing  the  experiment  to  have  failed, 
and  surprised  that  we  did  not  return,  set  out  to  meet  us, 
and  passed  the  sleeper,  whose  eyes  were  closed. 

'^She  did  not  recognize  him.  Absorbed  in  her  hypnotic 
idea,  she  rushed  up  the  stairs,  followed  by  us.  M.  Gibert 
was  about  to  enter  his  study,  but  I  took  him  by  the  arm  and 
led  him  into  the  opposite  room. 

**The  somnambulist  looked  everywhere  in  great  agitation  ; 
«he  pushed  against  us  without  perceiving  us ;  she  entered 
the  study  and  felt  the  different  pieces  of  furniture,  repeat- 
ing in  an  agonized  tone  :  *  Where  is  he  ?  Where  is  M.  Gi- 
bert?' 

"  While  she  was  doing  this  the  hypnotizer  remained  seated, 
in  a  stooping  position,  without  making  the  slightest  move- 
ment. She  entered  the  room  where  he  was,  and  almost 
touched  him  in  passing,  but  her  excitement  prevented  her 
from  recognizing  him.  She  rushed  into  the  other  rooms 
again.  Then  the  idea  occurred  to  M.  Gibert  of  attracting 
her  to  him  mentally;  and  whether  it  was  as  a  result  of  his 
will,  or  whether  by  mere  coincidence,  she  retraced  her  steps 
and  caught  him  by  the  hand. 

*' Frantic  joy  then  took  possession  of  her.  She  sprang 
upon  the  sofa  like  a  child,  and  clapped  her  hands,  crying  : 
'  Here  you  are  !  Here  you  are  at  last !  Ah,  how  delighted 
I  am.' 

''  In  short,"  says  Dr.  Ochorowicz,  ^'I  have  established  the 
extraordinary  phenomenon  of  action  at  a  distance,  which  has 
upset  all  previously  accepted  opinions.'' 

We  give  the  following  experiment  as  well : 

*^0n  the  10th  of  October,  1885,"  writes  M.  Janet,  *'We 
agreed,  M.  Gibert  and  I,  to  make  the  following  suggestion  : 
*  To  loch  the  doors  of  the  house  at  noon  to-morrow.'  I  wrote 
the  suggestion  on  a  piece  of  paper  which  I  kept  by  me,  and 

252 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

which  I  resolved  not  to  show  to  any  one.  M.  Gibert  made 
the  suggestion  by  touching  Madame  B/s  forehead  with 
his  own,  daring  an  hypnotic  sleep,  and  concentrating  his 
thoughts  for  some  moments  on  the  order  which  he  men- 
tally gave  her.  The  next  day  when  I  arrived  at  the  cot- 
tage at  a  quarter  before  twelve,  I  found  the  house  closed  and 
the  door  locked.  On  inquiry  it  proved  that  it  was  Madame 
B.  who  had  just  closed  the  house.  When  I  asked  her  why  she 
had  done  such  an  unusual  thing,  she  answered  me  :  '  I  felt 
very  tired,  and  I  did  not  wish  that  you  should  be  able  to 

oome  in  and  put  me  to  sleep.'     Madame  B was  very 

much  agitated  at  the  time  ;  she  kept  wandering  in  the  gar- 
den, and  I  saw  her  pluck  a  rose,  after  which  she  went  and 
looked  at  the  letter-box  placed  at  the  front  door.  These 
actions  are  insignificant  in  themselves,  but  it  is  curious  that 
it  was  these  very  actions  which  ive  had,  for  a  ynoment,  thought 
of  willing  her  to  do  the  evening  before.  We  had  eventually 
decided  in  favor  of  another  suggestion — namely,  that  of  clos- 
ing the  doors,  but  the  thought  of  the  first,  no  doubt,  re- 
mained in  M.  Gibert's  mind  during  his  exercise  of  will- 
power, and  the  subject  felt  the  influence  of  it. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  October,  M.  Gibert  ordered  Madame 
B.,  still  by  thought  transmission,  to  raise  an  umbrella  the 
next  day  at  noon,  and  walk  round  the  garden.  The  next 
day,  at  noon,  she  became  much  excited,  went  twice  round  the 
garden,  but  did  not  raise  the  umbrella.  I  put  her  to  sleep 
shortly  after,  in  order  to  calm  her  agitation,  which  became 
more  and  more  marked.  Her  first  words  were  these:  *^  Why 
did  you  make  me  go  all  round  the  garden?  ...  I  looked  so 
foolish.  ...  If  the  weather  we  had  yesterday  had  continued, 
it  would  have  been  different,  .  .  .  but  to-day  I  should  have 
been  ridiculous.'^ 

That  day  was,  indeed,  very  fine,  but  the  evening  before  had 
been  exceedingly  rainy. 

She  did  not  wish  to  raise  the  umbrella  for  fear  of  seeming 
absurd. 

Still  another  experiment : 

Dr.  Dussaret  reports  the  case  of  a  patient  whom  he  was 

253 


THE    UNKNOWN 

hypnotizing,  and  whom  he  ordered  every  day  before  he  left 
her  to  sleep  till  the  next  day  at  a  certain  hour. 

''  One  day/'  he  says,  ^'I  forgot  this  precaution,  and  I  was 
about  seven  hundred  yards  distant  from  the  house  when  I 
perceived  the  omission.  Not  being  able  to  return,  I  said 
to  myself  that  perhaps  my  order  would  be  understood 
in  spite  of  the  distance,  since  orders  are  known  to  be 
carried  out  at  a  distance  of  one  or  two  yards.  I  formu- 
lated the  injunction,  therefore,  to  sleep  until  eight  o'clock 
next  day,  and  I  proceeded  on  my  way.  Next  day  I  called  at 
half-past  seven  and  found  the  patient  asleep.  '  How  does 
it  happen  that  you  are  still  sleeping?'  *  In  obedience  to  youf 
order,  monsieur.'  '  You  are  mistaken ;  I  went  away  without 
giving  you  any  order.'  *  That  is  true ;  but  five  minutes  after 
you  had  left,  /  dhtinctly  heard  you  tell  me  to  sleep  until 
eight  o'clock.'  This  was  the  hour  which  I  was  in  the  habit 
of  fixing,  and  it  seemed  to  me  possible  that  mere  habit  might 
have  caused  an  illusion,  in  which  case  I  should  be  dealing 
with  nothing  more  than  mere  coincidence.  In  order  to  clear 
up  this  point,  and  leave  no  shadow  of  doubt,  I  ordered  the 
patient  to  sleep  until  she  was  told  to  awake.  During  the 
day,  taking  advantage  of  an  interval  of  leisure,  I  resolved  to 
complete  the  experiment.  I  ordered  her  to  wake  up,  leaving 
my  own  house,  which  was  rather  less  than  five  miles  distant, 
at  the  same  time.  The  hour,  v;hich  I  noted,  was  two  o'clock. 
When  I  reached  the  patient  I  found  her  awake,  her  parents 
having,  at  my  request,  noted  the  exact  hour  of  her  awaken- 
ing. This  corresponded  exactly  to  that  at  which  I  had  given 
her  my  injunction.  This  experiment  was  repeated  several 
times,  at  different  hours,  and  always  with  the  same  result." 
The  following  experiment  seems  even  more  convincing : 
'^  On  the  1st  of  January  I  suspended  my  visits  and  ceased 
all  relations  with  the  family.  I  heard  nothing  more  of  them, 
but  on  the  twelfth,  when  I  was  making  visits  in  an  opposite 
direction,  I  found  myself  between  six  and  seven  miles  distant 
from  the  patient,  and  I  wondered  whether  it  would  be  pos- 
sible for  me  still  to  make  her  obey  me,  in  spite  of  the  dis- 
tance, in  spite  of  the  cessation  of  all  communication,  and  in 

254 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

spite  of  the  intervention  of  a  third  person — for  the  father  had 
been  mesmerizing  his  daughter  in  the  interval.  1  forbade  the 
patient  to  go  to  sleep,  and  then  half  an  hour  later,  reflecting 
that  if  it  should  really  happen  that  I  was  obeyed  the  con- 
sequences might  be  injurious  to  her,  I  removed  the  prohibi- 
tion and  thought  no  more  of  it.  Next  morning  at  six  o'clock 
I  was  surprised  by  the  appearance  at  my  house  of  a  messenger, 
bringing  a  letter  from  the  father  of  Mademoiselle  J.  This 
letter  informed  me  that  on  the  day  before  (that  is,  on  the 
twelfth),  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  had  not  been  able 
to  cause  his  daughter  to  sleep  until  after  prolonged  and  pain- 
ful effort.  The  patient,  when  she  did  go  to  sleep,  had  de- 
clared that  her  resistance  had  been  by  my  orders,  and  she 
had  slept  at  last  only  because  I  permitted  it.  Declarations 
to  this  effect  have  been  made  in  the  presence  of  witnesses, 
whom  the  father  caused  to  sign  the  papers  which  contained 
them. 

"  It  seems  probable  that  with  an  exact  knowledge  of  the 
conditions  of  such  phenomena,  it  would  be  possible  to  com- 
municate as  fully  by  thought  from  a  distance,  as  one  does 
now  by  the  telephone."^ 

Dr.  Charles  Richet  reports  that  one  day,  when  he  was  at 
breakfast  with  his  colleagues  in  the  salle  de  garde,  his  brother, 
Landouzy,  who  was  present,  and  who  was  at  that  time,  like 
himself,  an  interne  at  the  hospital  Beaujon,  asserted  that  he 
could  put  to  sleep  a  certain  patient  from  a  distance,  and  that 
he  could  also  make  her  come  into  the  salle  de  garde,  simply 
by  an  act  of  will  on  his  part.  At  the  end  of  ten  minutes,  no 
one  having  appeared,  the  experiment  was  considered  a  fail- 
ure. "But,  in  reality,'' writes  the  experimenter,  'Mt  had 
not  failed,  for  some  time  afterwards  I  was  informed  that  the 
patient  in  question  was  walking  about  the  passages,  asleep, 
and  wishing  to  speak  to  me,  but  not  able  to  find  me  ;  and  I 
could  obtain  from  her  no  further  explanation  of  her  sleep,  or 
of  her  wanderings,  than  that  she  desired  to  see  me." 

All  these  experiments  demonstrate  psychic  action  at  a  dis- 
tance. 

*  Ochorowicz,  De  la  suggestion  mentaie,  p.  149. 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Facts  quite  us  remarkable  have  been  observed  in  regard  to 
the  action  of  the  will,  in  hypnotic  experiments,  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  times. 

Here,  for  example,  is  a  case  of  somnambulism  caused  by 
M.  E.  Boirac,  provost  of  the  Academy  at  Grenoble. 

''  In  September,  1892,"  he  writes,  "  I  established  myself 
with  all  my  possessions  at  the  little  village  of  Amelie-les- 
Bains,  intending  to  spend  the  vacation  there. 

"  There  was  a  great  deal  of  talk  going  on  about  sea7ices 
given  by  a  young  countryman,  who  called  himself  Dockman. 
Curiosity  impelled  me  to  visit  one  of  these  meetings.  The 
young  man  was  about  twenty  years  of  age,  dark,  thin,  and 
very  nervous.  Three  years  previously  he  had  been  hypno- 
tized by  a  naval  surgeon,  and  had  then  realized  that  he  pos- 
sessed the  power  of  mind-reading.  Every  one  is  familiar 
with  the  kind  of  scene  in  which  some  one  present  succeeds 
more  or  less  completely  in  transmitting  his  wishes  to  the  sub- 
ject, simply  by  mental  effort,  without  words,  without  ges- 
tures, and  even  without  contact. 

*'The  young  mountaineer's  perceptions  seemed  to  me  to 
fail  very  often,  and  he  himself  owned  that  he  tried  all  kinds 
of  means  to  divine  his  mesmerizer's  meaning.  'You,  your- 
self,' I  said  to  him,  laughing,  '  require  to  be  put  to  sleep 
once  more,  in  order  to  recover  your  old  powers ;  if  you  really 
wish  it,  I  am  ready  to  serve  you  in  this  respect.'  Dockman 
seemed  surprised  and  a  little  annoyed  at  my  proposition.  *  It 
is  I,'  he  said,  '  who  put  people  to  sleep  ;  no  one  does  it  to  me 
any  longer.' 

"  Nevertheless,  some  days  later,  probably  in  order  to  grati- 
fy the  mayor  of  the  town,  who  expressed  a  wish  to  witness  a 
hypnotic  seance,  Dockman  consented  to  let  me  treat  him. 
One  evening,  therefore,  about  ten  o'clock,  before  an  audi- 
ence of  four  or  five  persons,  I  took  hold  of  his  hands  and 
looked  him  fixedly  in  the  eyes.  At  the  end  of  some  minutes 
he  was  asleep,  if  the  comatose  and  cataleptic  state  into 
which  he  passed  could  be  called  sleep.  His  whole  body  was 
rigid,  his  jaws  were  clinched,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  that  I  obtained  short  answers  to  my  questions.     He 

256 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

awoke  with  extreme  slowness ;  and  a  second  sleep  presented 
the  same  characteristics.  He  seemed  to  me,  in  fact,  an  un- 
interesting subject,  and  I  saw  no  reason  to' expect  any  results 
of  importance  from  him. 

"  The  next  day,  about  one  o^clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  went 
to  the  Casino  in  order  to  take  coffee. 

''I  seated  myself  upon  the  terrace,  and  while  sipping  the 
coffee,  which  had  just  been  served  me,  I  glanced  around  me. 
Dockman  was  seated  in  the  garden  with  a  friend,  who  was 
looking  over  a  newspaper.  Dockman  had  his  back  towards 
me,  and  was  occupied  in  rolling  a  cigarette.  I  do  not  know 
what  suggested  to  me  the  experiment  that  I  am  about  to  re- 
late, but  the  idea  came  to  me,  and  I  proceeded  to  put  it  into 
execution  with  all  the  force  of  my  will.  Concentrating  my- 
self upon  a  single  thought,  and  looking  fixedly  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Dockman,  I  ordered  him  to  go  to  sleep.  He  did  not 
appear  to  be  conscious  of  my  glance  at  the  first  moment,  but 
very  soon  I  saw  his  movements  cease  and  his  eyes  become 
fixed.  With  the  unfinished  cigarette  in  his  hands,  he  all  at 
once  lowered  his  eyelids,  and  remained  motionless  as  a 
statue.  His  friend  looked  up,  beheld  him  in  this  condi- 
tion, spoke  to  him,  and  received  no  answer.  A  singer,  who 
was  seated  at  a  neighboring  table,  became  frightened  and 
began  to  scream.  I  hastened  to  descend,  and  in  a  few  sec- 
onds, by  breathing  quickly  on  his  eyelids,  I  woke  up  my  im- 
provised subject,  who  did  not  seem  aware  of  what  had  hap- 
pened to  him. 

''I  attempted  this  experiment  by  chance,  not  anticipating 
any  result,  and  I  was  confounded  myself  at  the  result.  The 
next  day  I  met  with  an  opportunity  to  repeat  it.  I  arrived 
at  the  Casino  between  one  and  half-past.  Dockman  was 
seated  on  the  terrace,  alone  at  a  table, where  he  was  writing  a 
letter,  bent  double,  with  his  nose  almost  touching  the  paper. 
My  table  was  five  or  six  feet  from  his  ;  between  him  and  my- 
self there  was  a  party  of  four,  playing  cards.  I  again  con- 
centrated myself  in  a  nervous  effort,  which  made  me  almost 
vibrate  from  head  to  foot,  and  with  all  my  strength,  while 
fixing  my  eyes  on  Dockman,  I  ordered  him  to  cease  writing 
R  257 


THE    UNKNOWN 

and  go  to  sleep.  The  result  was  less  rapid  than  it  had  been 
the  day  before.  It  seemed  as  though  the  subject  struggled 
against  my  will.  After  a  minute  or  two,  however,  he  gave 
visible  signs  of  disturbance  :  his  pen  remained  suspended  as 
though  he  sought  in  vain  for  words,  he  made  a  gesture  with 
his  hand  like  one  who  brushes  away  an  obstacle;  then  he  tore 
up  the  letter  and  began  to  write  another ;  but  soon  the  pen 
remained  motionless  on  the  paper,  and  he  went  to  sleep  in 
that  position.  I  approached  him  together  with  several  of  tlie 
by-standers,  who  had  interrupted  their  game ;  his  whole 
body  was  rigid  and  hard  like  a  block  of  wood.  An  attempt 
to  bend  one  of  his  arms  was  useless ;  the  stiffness  disap- 
peared only  under  the  influence  of  my  passes.  When  he  had 
regained  the  use  of  his  senses,  Dockman  begged  me  not  to 
renew  these  experiments  ;  he  complained  of  having  been  very 
much  exhausted  by  that  of  the  preceding  evening.  He  also 
assured  me  that  on  both  occasions  he  had  slept  without  hav- 
ing the  slightest  suspicion  that  the  sudden  sleep  was  caused 
by  myself  or  by  any  other  person." 

This  experiment  is  very  important,  and  leaves  no  possibil- 
ity of  doubt  as  to  action  at  a  distance. 

Dr.  Darieux,  editor  of  the  Annales  des  Sciences  Psycliiques, 
has  published  the  following  experiments  on  mental  transmis- 
sion, made  by  one  of  his  friends,  who  does  not  wish  to  give 
his  name,  "on  account  of  the  important  position  which  he 
holds,"  a  circumstance  much  to  be  regretted: 

"From  the  7th  of  January,  1887,  to  the  11th  of  Novem- 
ber Marie  slept  very  often  as  a  means  of  relief,  through  sug- 
gestion, from  intolerable  headache  and  the  sensation  of  a 
ball  in  her  throat.  She  suffered  from  hysterical  pains, 
which  were  truly  Protean  in  their  character,  and  which  it 
was  constantly  necessary  to  disperse  by  appropriate  sugges- 
tion. Aside  from  this,  her  general  health  was  excellent,  and 
during  the  seventeen  years  which  I  have  had  this  young 
woman  under  my  observation  she  has  never  relinquished  her 
occupations  for  a  single  day  on  account  of  illness. 

**I  had  attempted  mental  transmission  with  her  during 
numerous  sleep   seances,  but  in  vain.     Up   to   the   11th  of 

258 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

November  I  had  not  obtained  the  slightest  response  to  orders 
given  in  this  way.  Marie's  mind  was  constantly  on  the  alert, 
causing  her  to  dream,  and  she  only  obeyed  verbal  orders. 

''One  evening  I  had  left  her  sleeping  on  a  sofa,  and  was 
writing  my  notes  in  regard  to  her  case,  when  she  had  spon- 
taneously a  very  painful  hallucination,  and  burst  into  tears. 
I  quieted  her  with  difficulty,  and  in  order  to  cut  short  these 
dreams,  I  forbade  her  to  think  of  anything  connected  with 
them,  and  I  left  her  to  sleep.  Upon  thinking  of  my  total 
want  of  success  as  regarded  mental  transmission,  it  occurred 
to  me  that  it  might  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  subject's 
brain  was  too  crowded  with  ideas,  and,  therefore,  I  chose  a 
suggestion  which  I  formulated  thus  : 

''  'When  you  sleep  and  I  do  not  speak  to  you,  you  are  to 
think  of  absolutely  nothing.  Your  brain  is  to  remain  void 
of  ideas,  in  order  that  there  shall  be  no  obstacle  to  the  en- 
trance of  mine.' 

''I  repeated  this  suggestion  four  times  between  the  11th 
of  November  and  the  6th  of  December,  the  latter  date  being 
the  day  on  which  I  was  able  for  the  first  time  to  demon- 
strate thought  transmission. 

"  Marie  had  been  asleep  for  a  moment  in  a  profound  som- 
nambulistic condition.  I  turned  my  back  to  her,  and,  with- 
out any  gesture  or  sound  whatever,  I  gave  her  the  following 
mental  order : 

''  'When  you  awake  you  are  to  go  and  find  a  glass,  put  in 
it  some  drops  of  eau  de  Cologne,  and  bring  it  to  me.' 

*'  On  awakening  Marie  was  visibly  preoccupied.  She  was 
not  able  to  keep  her  seat,  and  at  last  she  came  and  stood  be- 
fore me,  saying : 

'"What  are  you  thinking  of?  and  what  idea  have  yon 
taken  into  your  head  ?' 

"  '  Why  do  you  speak  to  me  in  that  manner?' 

'' '  Because  my  present  idea  can  only  have  come  from  you, 
and  I  do  not  wish  to  obey  it.' 

"  '  Do  not  obey  it  if  you  do  not  want  to  do  so ;  but  I  insist 
that  you  shall  tell  me  immediately  what  yon  are  thinking  of.' 

"  'Well  !    I  am  to  go  and  find  a  glass,  put  in  it  some  water 

^59 


THE    UNKNOWN 

with  a  few  drops  of  eau  de  Cologne,  and  bring  it  to  you. 
This  is  really  ridiculous/ 

*'For  the  first  time  my  order  had  been  perfectly  under- 
stood. From  this  date — that  is,  the  6th  of  December,  1887 — 
up  to  the  present  time  (1893),  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
unusual  days,  mental  transmission  has  been  clearly  evident, 
both  in  her  waking  and  in  her  sleeping  state.  It  is  disturbed 
only  at  certain  periods,  or  when  Marie  is  greatly  harassed. 

''  On  the  10th  of  December,  1887,  without  Marie's  knowl- 
edge, I  hid  a  watch  that  had  stopped  behind  some  books  in 
my  book-case,  and  when  she  arrived  I  put  her  to  sleep  and 
gave  her  the  following  mental  order: 

'*  *Go  and  look  for  the  watch  that  is  hidden  behind  some 
books  in  the  book-case.' 

*'  I  was  seated  in  my  arm-chair.  Marie  was  behind  me, 
and  I  was  careful  not  to  look  towards  the  side  of  the  room 
where  the  object  was  concealed. 

"  She  left  her  chair  quickly,  went  straight  to  the  book- 
case, but  could  not  open  it.  Regular  and  determined  move- 
ments manifested  themselves  every  time  she  touched  the 
door,  and  more  particularly  the  glass  of  the  book-case, 

*^ '  It  is  there  !  It  is  there  !  I  am  sure  of  it;  but  the  glass 
burns  me !' 

'*  I  decided  to  go  and  open  it  myself ;  she  seized  upon  my 
books,  took  them  out,  and  snatched  the  watch,  which  she 
was  overjoyed  to  have  found. 

'^  Similar  experiments  have  been  made  with  orders  com- 
municated to  me  by  one  of  my  friends,  written  down  before- 
hand, at  a  distance  from  the  subject,  and  the  success  has 
been  complete.  But  if  the  person  who  communicates  the 
order  to  me  is  a  stranger  to  Marie,  she  refuses  to  obey,  saying 
it  is  not  I  who  give  the  command. 

"  K  mutual  friend  one  day  came  into  my  study  while  Marie 
was  asleep,  and  gave  me  the  following  little  note : 

'^ '  Tell  her,  mentally,  to  go  and  look  for  a  cigarette  for 
me  in  the  antechamber,  to  light  it,  and  to  present  it  to  me.' 

"  She  was  seated  behind  me.  Without  leaving  my  chair, 
and  with  my  back  still  turned  to  her,  I  sent  the  mental 

260 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

order.  My  friend  took  a  book  and  pretended  to  read,  watch- 
ing her  closely  all  the  time. 

''  *  You  are  teasing  me  !    How  can  yon  wish  me  to  get  np?' 

"  (Mental  order)  '  You  can  get  up  very  easily;  uncross  your 
feet.' 

'^^  After  some  effort  she  succeeded  in  uncrossing  her  feet 
(which  she  was  in  the  habit  of  crossing  under  her  chair),  got 
up,  and  went  slowly  and  complainingly  towards  a  box  of 
cigars,  touched  them,  and  then  began  to  laugh. 

"  '  Ah,  no  I    I  am  mistaken.     This  is  not  the  right  thing.' 

"And  she  went  straight  to  the  side  of  the  room  without 
further  hesitation,  took  a  cigarette,  and  gave  it  to  our  friend. 

''(Mental  order)  'There  is  something  else  to  be  done: 
light  it  at  once.' 

"  Marie  seized  a  match,  but  could  not  light  it  readily.  I 
stopped  her  aud  sent  her  back  to  her  place." 

This  experiment  affords  certain  proof  of  thought  transmis- 
sion. 

I  had  occasion  to  make  some  experiments  personally,  in 
thought  transmission  and  mental  suggestion,  in  the  month 
of  January,  1899,  with  Ninof,  the  '' mind -reader,"  at  the 
residence  of  M.  Clovis  Hugues.  I  then  proved  :  First,  that 
in  order  he  should  guess  anything  it  was  necessary  that  the 
person  who  put  the  question  should  know  the  thing  to  be 
revealed.  Secondly,  that  it  was  necessary  that  the  mental 
order  should  be  given  energetically.  He  obeyed  the  mental 
order  punctiliously  and  in  the  smallest  details  if  the  order 
was  simple  and  exact.  Thirdly,  that  this  thought  transmis- 
sion will  operate  from  one  brain  to  another,  without  any  con- 
tact, without  any  sign,  at  the  distance  of  one  or  two  metres, 
solely  by  concentration  of  thought  on  the  part  of  the  person 
who  gives  the  order,  and  ivithout  any  collusion.  Fourthly, 
failures  were  not  infrequent,  and  seemed  to  arise  from  inabil- 
ity to  establish  perfect  connection  between  the  brain  of  the 
person  who  gave  the  order  and  that  of  the  subject ;  to  fatigue 
on  the  part  of  the  latter  ;  or  to  contrary  currents. 

Example  :  I  willed  that  ISTinof  should  go  and  take  a  photo- 
graph, which  was  lying  by  the  side  of  several  others  at  the 

261 


THE    UNKNOWN 

end  of  tlie  mJon,  and  then  carry  it  to  a  gentleman  whom  I 
did  not  know,  and  whom  I  selected  simply  as  being  the  sixth 
person  seated  among  thirty  spectators.  This  mental  order 
was  executed  exactly,  and  without  hesitation. 

M.  Clovis  Ungues  willed  that  the  subject  should  go  and 
get  a  little  engraving  representing  Michelet,  which  was  placed 
with  severd  other  objects  on  the  niano,  and  put  it  before  a 
statuette  of  Joan  of  Arc,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  salon. 
The  order  was  executed  without  the  smallest  hesitation. 

It  was  the  first  time  that  Ninof  had  come  into  the  house, 
and  he  had  come  alone,  without  any  companion. 

He  had  his  eyes  bandaged  by  a  cloth  tied  round  his  head, 
in  order,  he  said,  to  prevent  him  from  any  distraction. 

Four  hairs,  taken  by  M.  Adolphe  Brisson  from  different 
persons,  were  found  by  this  subject  where  they  had  been 
hidden,  and  were  brought  back  to  the  persons  from  whose 
heads  they  had  been  taken,  and  put  on  the  same  spot. 

Up  to  the  time  at  which  I  witnessed  this  experiment  I  had 
seen  little  but  deceptions.  I  had  been  convinced  that  in 
mind  readings,  and  in  object  researches,  even  if  the  experi- 
ments were  made  in  good  faith,  there  were  unconscious 
movements  of  the  hands  which  guided  the  subject.  In  the 
experiment  just  recorded,  no  one  touched  him,  and  even 
supposing  that  he  had  been  able  to  see  above  the  bandage,  it 
made  no  difference,  for  the  spectators  were  all  behind  him. 

Among  the  1130  psychic  facts  which  I  received  and  noted 
at  the  time  of  the  inquiries  already  spoken  of,  and  apart  from 
the  principal  cases  which  related  to  dying  manifestations,  and 
which  have  been  already  quoted,  there  were  several  very 
interesting  letters  concerning  the  subject  of  this  chapter, 
that  is,  psychic  commtmicatmi  and  thougM  transmission 
occurring  bettueen  the  minds  of  living  persons. 

I  will  select  a  few  papers  from  this  collection,  which  is 
indeed  a  most  varied  mine.     They  are  most  instructive. 

I.  *'  Will  you  permit  one  of  your  most  assiduous,  and,  I 
may  add,  most  sympathetic  readers,  to  inquire  your  senti- 
ments in  regard  to  a  fact  with  which  you  are  certainly  familiar. 

'^  You  are  in  a  street.    Suddenly  you  perceive  at  some  little 

262 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

distance  a  person  whose  carriage,  whose  walk,  whose  features 
even,  are  familiar  to  you.  And  you  say,  ^Oh,  there  is  Mon- 
sieur X.  V 

"You  approach  him,  but  it  is  not  he.  "What  then  ?  You 
walk  on;  and  some  minutes  after  you  see,  you  meet,  and 
this  time  without  any  mistake,  the  person  whom  you  be- 
lieved yourself  to  have  seen  at  first. 

'^  How  often  has  this  happened  to  me  !  and  no  doubt  to 
you  also.  What  is  its  cause  ?  I  have  sought  for  it  for  a 
long  time,  and  I  have  at  last  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
this  curious  sensation  must  be  due  to  a  radiation  emanating 
from  the  person  whom  one  is  eventually  to  see. 

"The  same  objection  may  be  raised  to  this  idea  that  is 
raised  to  telepathy  :  '  It  is  an  absurdity ;  it  is  contrary  to 
common -sense.  How  can  the  hypothesis  of  a  radiation  be 
admitted  when  there  has  been  every  opportunity  for  such 
radiation  to  be  dispersed  by  people  who  are  passing,  or  by 
carriages  driving  by  ?  etc.^ 

"Nevertheless,  it  is  not  impossible,  even  from  a  physical 
point  of  view,  to  believe  that  each  individual  projects  before 
and  around  him  a  radiation,  and  that  this  radiation  is  able  to 
escape  the  various  causes  of  dispersion  or  refraction,  etc., 
which  I  have  just  spoken  of. 

"In  any  case,  it  is  extremely  curious  that  one  often  meets 
and  finds  one^s  self  face  to  face  with  a  person  of  whom  one 
was  not  thinking,  and  whom  one  had  apparently  recognized 
a  moment  before.  L.  de  Leiris, 

"Juge  au  Tribunal  Civil,  at  Lyons." 
Letter  7. 

II.  "  It  often  happens  to  me  that,  being  in  the  street,  the 
figure  of  a  passer-by,  seen  from  a  distance,  makes  me  think  of 
another  who  resembles  him  in  some  slight  degree — in  dress, 
or  in  walk,  etc.  An  hour  or  two  afterwards  1  pass  the  per- 
son who  has  been  thus  called  to  my  mind,  but  it  is  only  when 
the  meeting  takes  place  that  I  recall  having  thought  I  saw 
him  before-  Berger, 

"School-master  at  Hoanne." 
Letter  39. 
263 


THE    UNKNOWN 

III.  '*  Several  years  ago  I  married  in  the  provinces,  and 
ever  since  then  I  have  been  in  daily  communication  with  my 
father,  who  lives  in  Paris.  He  writes  to  me  every  day,  and 
we  are  both  in  the  habit  of  conducting  our  correspondence 
towards  the  latter  part  of  the  afternoon. 

''  It  often  happens  that  one  of  us  puts  a  question  and  the 
other  writes  the  answer  to  the  question  on  the  same  day  and 
at  the  same  hour.  The  question  frequently  concerns  friends 
or  acquaintances  who  one  or  the  other  of  us  has  not  seen 
for  a  long  time,  since  we  do  not  live  in  the  same  town. 

'^And  it  often  happens  that  if  I  am  suffering  and  do  not 
mention  it  to  my  father,  he  will  divine  it  and  insist  upon 
news  of  my  health  just  at  the  time  that  it  is  a  little  affected. 

'^L.  R.  R." 

Letter  58. 

IV.  **If  some  one  looks  at  me  as  I  pass  along  the  street, 
even  if  it  is  from  the  fifth  story,  my  eyes  turn  involuntarily 
and  meet  theirs.  I  should  be  very  glad  to  learn  from  you 
what  is  the  reason  of  this  phenomenon.  J.  0. 

"AtPezenas."  Letter  152. 

V.  "  My  mother,  a  short  time  ago,  before  entering  a  shop 
(she  was  still  twenty  yards  from  it),  said  to  me,  suddenly: 
*  Wait,  I  have  just  seen  so-and-so  ;  may  God  preserve  me 
meeting  him  !'  She  had,  no  doubt,  seen  him  only  by  intui- 
tion, but  it  is  an  extraordinary  fact  that  upon  entering  the 
shop  she  found  herself  face  to  face  with  him. 

*'J.  B.  Vincent. 

' '  At  Lyons. "  Letter  189. 

VI.  "  What  is  the  explanation  of  the  fact  that  frequently 
(in  nine  cases  out  of  ten)  after  meeting  some  person  in  the 
street  who  has  recalled  another  to  me  by  some  vague  re- 
semblance, I  find  myself  a  moment  after,  or  at  any  rate  in  the 
course  of  the  day,  in  the  presence  of  that  very  person  who 
was  recalled  to  my  mind,  although  nothing  brings  that  per- 
son to  see  me.  J.  Rekier. 

"  At  Verdun,  Meuse." 

Letter  199. 

364 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

VII.  ''One  morning,  abont  two  months  ago,  I  was  still  in 
bed,  but  fully  awake,  and  I  thought  of  calling  to  my  mother 
to  say  good-morning,  when  I  heard  her  steps  approaching  my 
room.  I  considered  in  what  tone  I  would  cry  '  Mamma  !'  but 
I  am  sure  that  I  did  not  pronounce  the  word,  for  I  was  not 
asleep ;  I  had  been  awake  a  long  time,  and  I  was  perfectly 
conscious  of  what  I  did,  or  did  not  do. 

''  At  this  moment  mamma  entered  my  room  ;  I  said  to  her, 
laughing:  'I  was  just  thinking  of  calling  you.'  She  an- 
swered :  '  But  you  did  call  me  ;  I  heard  it  at  the  other  end 
of  the  room,  and  that  is  why  I  am  here.''  I  am  sure  that  I 
said  nothing,  and  my  mother  is  sure  that  she  heard  me. 
This  has  caused  us  much  amusement,  for  it  is  very  extraor- 
dinary. Y.  Dubois. 

**  8  Rue  de  la  Monnaie,  Nancy." 

Letter  207. 

VIII.  ''  It  is  a  matter  of  common  occurrence  to  see  unex- 
pectedly a  person  of  whom  one  has  just  thought  or  spoken ; 
and  this  must  have  been  long  ago  observed,  since  there  is  a 
proverbial  expression  now  in  use  :  '  Speak  of  a  wolf,  and  you 
see  his  tail.'  Alphonse  Rabelle, 

•'Druggist  at  Ribemont  (Aisne)," 
Letter  233. 

IX.  ''  You  may,  perhaps,  have  heard  mention  of  the  belief, 
which  is  very  widely  distributed  in  certain  quarters,  connect- 
ed with  the  buzzing  of  the  ears  ;  it  signifies,  they  say,  that 
some  one  somewhere  is  discussing  you.  I  have  often  joked 
with  persons  who  admitted  their  faith  in  this  superstition, 
but  my  incredulity  has  been  modified  by  an  experience  of 
this  sort  which  happened  to  me  under  very  painful  circum- 
stances. Is  it  possible  that  there  exists,  in  this  respect,  a 
transmission  of  the  kind  with  which  you  are  now  occupied  ? 
If  you  think  this  possible,  I  will  hold  myself  in  readiness  to 
inform  you  of  what  happened  to  me,  with  proofs  in  support 
of  it,  such  as  letters  with  the  hours  of  despatch  and  of  re- 
ception, the  sending  of  which  would  easily  verify  the  hours 
at  which  the  phenomenon  occurred,  etc.;  perhaps,  even,  my 

265 


THE    UNKNOWN 

affirmation  might  be  certified  to  by  one  of  the  persons  con- 
cerned in  the  transmission,  whom  I  saw  in  December,  and  to 
whom  I  spoke  of  what  had  happened.  A.  L.  R." 

Letter  233. 

X.  "I  am  a  teacher,  and  I  have  been  married  nine  years. 
My  wife  and  I  have  similar  tastes,  and  we  have  received  simi- 
lar educations ;  we  have  discovered  since  our  marriage  a  re- 
semblance of  thoughts,  which  strikes  us  as  remarkable.  Very 
often  one  of  us  gives  verbal  expression  to  an  opinion  or  an 
idea  exactly  at  the  moment  when  the  other  was  about  to  ex- 
press it  in  the  same  terms.  In  passing  judgment  upon  persons 
or  things,  phrases  which  are  identical  rise  to  the  lips  of  each 
of  us  at  the  same  time ;  and  the  words  of  one  are,  so  to  speak, 
reduplicated  by  those  which  the  other  was  about  to  utter. 

''Is  this  a  phenomenon  of  common  occurrence  when  com- 
plete sympathy  exists  between  two  natures,  or  is  it  peculiar  to 
ourselves  ?  In  either  case,  if  any  importance  attaches  to  it, 
what  is  its  cause,  its  nature,  and  why  does  it  manifest  itself  ? 

*'F.  Dalidet, 
"  School- master  and  Secretary  to  the  Mairie, 
"  Saint  Florent,  pres  Nior  (Deux  Sevres). 

''Witnessed  for  the  legalization  of  the  signature  of  M. 
Dalidet,  school-master  at  Saint  Florent. 

"A.  Favrion,  Mayor. 
"  Mairie  de  Saint  Florent,  March  28,  1899." 
Letter  299. 

XI.  "  My  mother,  who  was  the  wife  of  a  captain  in  the 
navy,  was  always  warned  by  some  unusual  sign  when  my 
father  was  exposed  to  danger.  This  happened  so  frequently 
that  she  acquired  the  habit  of  making  a  note  of  it.  And  the 
next  day  she  would  learn  that  her  husband,  when  in  danger 
of  shipwreck,  had  sent  to  her  what  he  believed  to  be  his  last 
thought.  Innumerable  such  cases  occur  among  the  wives  of 
sailors.  I  remember  very  well  that  when  mamma  received 
visits,  telepathy  was  often  the  subject  of  conversation. 

"  One  of  my  friends,  who  also  was  the  wife  of  a  naval  man, 
saw  her  husband's  hand  distinctly  outlined  on  one  of  the  win- 

266 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

dow  panes  on  the  day  of  his  death,  which  occurred  tragically 
during  a  shipwreck.  What  struck  her  particularly  was  his 
wedding-ring,  which  was  plainly  visible  on  his  hand.  An- 
other of  my  friends  had  a  sick  sister,  from  whom  she  was 
separated,  and  who  had  promised  to  notify  her  by  some  sign 
of  her  death,  if  it  should  occur.  At  the  very  hour  at  which 
the  sister  breathed  her  last,  my  friend  felt  a  tender  embrace, 
which  she  recognized  to  be  the  embrace  of  her  beloved  sister, 
who  was  at  that  moment  dying.  I  myself  was  in  the  com- 
pany of  two  of  my  pupils,  when  we  all  three  heard  ^Fraulein' 
distinctly  pronounced  by  a  voice  which  I  recognized  at  once 
as  that  of  one  of  my  acquaintances  who  had  behaved  very 
badly  to  me.  I  made  a  note  of  the  fact,  and  of  the  hour  at 
which  it  occurred,  and  I  learned  afterwards  that  this  person 
died  at  the  very  time  when  the  sound  of  her  voice  reached 
my  ears.  Maria  Strieffert, 

"(Born  at  Stralsund,  Pomerania).     At  Calais." 
Letter  319. 

XII.  *'I  have  been  an  enthusiastic  reader  of  your  recent 
articles,  and  it  is  with  delight  that  I  testify  to  the  power  of 
human  thought.  I  have,  personally,  only  one  fact  to  record. 
During  my  residence  in  Germany  I  distinctly  heard  my 
father  call  me  by  my  pet  name.  And  the  next  day  I  learned 
that  he  had  written  to  me  at  the  same  instant  that  the  sound 
of  that  dear  voice  struck  my  ear. 

' '  Ma  deleii^e  Fontaine, 
"Boarder  at  Mademoiselle  Bertranch's  School,  Calais." 

*^P.S. — Several  confidences  have  been  made  to  me  on  the 
subject  of  telepathy.  If  they  would  be  of  any  interest  to 
you  I  shall  be  delighted  to  communicate  them." 

Letter  320. 

XIII.  ^'I  have  never  been  apprised  of  the  death  of  any 
one  by  any  sort  of  apparition,  nor  has  it  occurred  to  any  of 
the  twelve  or  fifteen  members  of  my  family,  whom  I  know 
very  well. 

^'But  I  once   had   a  presentiment  which,  although  it  oc- 

267 


THE    UNKNOWN 

cnrrecl  under  very  different  circnmstances  from  the  phenomena 
which  you  are  now  studying,  belongs  perhaps  to  the  same  class. 

"On  going  one  morning  to  the  hospital  Lariboisiere,  where 
I  was  an  externe,  I  had  for  a  moment  the  idea  that  I  was 
going  to  meet  at  the  door  of  the  hospital  a  Monsieur  P., 
whom  I  had  only  seen  once,  eight  months  previously,  at  the 
house  of  a  friend,  and  who  had  never  been  in  my  mind  since. 
This  gentleman,  who  was  a  doctor  of  medicine,  had  come 
there,  I  imagined,  to  see  a  certain  surgeon  at  Lariboisiere. 

*'  I  was  not  much  mistaken.  At  the  door  of  the  hospital 
I  did  meet  Monsieur  P.,  who  had  come  in  order  to  see,  not 
the  surgeon  in  question,  but  the  head  of  the  obstetrical  de- 
partment. 

"Observe  that  I  could  not  have  seen  Monsieur  P.  at  a  dis- 
tance, nor  have  recognized  him  subconsciously,  for  the  pre- 
sentiment came  to  me  on  the  Boulevard  Magenta,  to  the 
right  of  the  Rue  Saint  Quentin,  and  Monsieur  P.,  when  I 
saw  him,  had  been  waiting  at  the  gate  of  the  hospital  for 
twenty  minutes.  I  asked  him  how  long  he  had  been  wait- 
ing there  before  telling  him  of  my  presentiment,  in  order 
not  to  influence  his  answer. 

"  I  will  add  to  this  that  I  am  in  no  way  inclined  to  supersti- 
tion— on  the  contrary,  I  am  rather  sceptical ;  and  my  first 
effort  as  regards  this  occurrence  was  to  seek  a  physical  ex- 
planation of  it  before  resorting  to  the  intervention  of  a  still 
undetermined  factor.  But  I  have  not  yet  found  that  physi- 
cal explanation.  G.  Mesley, 

"Medical  Student,  27  Rue de  I'Entrepot." 
Letter  331. 

XIV.  "  A  young  woman,  one  of  my  friends,  who  lived  in 
Paris  while  I  was  in  the  provinces,  was  attacked  by  an  ill- 
ness which  brought  her  in  a  few  hours  to  the  brink  of  the 
grave.  I  had  not  been  notified  of  her  illness  in  any  way 
whatever ;  nevertheless,  at  that  very  moment  I  had  a  dream, 
a  perfect  nightmare,  during  which  I  was  present  at  the  mar- 
riage of  this  friend.  Relations,  friends,  every  one  present, 
all  were  dressed  in  dark  garments,  and  wept  bitterly.  The 
impression  became  so  painful  that  I  awoke.     A  fortnight 

268 


t»SYCHIC    ACTION 

later  I  learned  of  the  danger  from  which  this  person  had  just 
escaped. 

'^  It  also  frequently  happens  to  me  to  think,  without  ap- 
parent cause,  of  some  one  in  whom  I  perceive  a  coincidence 
of  thought,  by  receiving  from  that  person  a  letter  which 
nothing  has  made  necessary.  This  happens  so  often  that  I 
am  in  the  habit  of  expecting  news  of  persons  of  whom  I  have 
involuntarily  thought.  Nevertheless,  the  fact  is  not  without 
exceptions.  A.  B. 

-AtChagoy."  Letter  382. 

XV.  "The  following  fact  has  been  reported  to  me  by  one 
of  my  friends,  who  is  a  professor  in  one  of  the  faculties  of 
medicine  in  France  and  whose  position  affords  special  guar- 
antees for  his  ability  and  veracity.  I  cannot,  without  his 
sanction,  give  you  his  name  in  connection  with  an  event 
which  he  told  me  in  a  private  conversation,  and  it  is  possible 
he  may  not  wish  to  see  it  published.  We  will  designate  him 
then  under  the  initial  Z. 

"  Monsieur  Z.,  while  at  Saint  Louis,  in  Senegal,  was  stung 
on  the  great  toe  by  a  very  dangerous  insect  belonging  to  that 
country,  known  among  Europeans  as  the  chigoe.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  injury,  he  was  seized  by  a  violent  fever,  which 
brought  him  to  the  brink  of  the  grave,  and  rendered  him 
entirely  unconscious  for,  I  think,  as  much  as  twenty  days. 
Some  hours  after  he  had  lost  consciousness,  a  telegram  from 
his  mother,  who  was  in  France,  was  brought  to  him,  asking 
what  had  happened  to  him.  The  hour  at  which  this  telegram 
had  been  sent,  allowing  for  the  time  necessary  to  take  it  to  the 
office,  coincided  with  that  at  which  Monsieur  Z.  had  fainted 
away.  When  he  returned  to  France,  restored  to  health,  his 
mother  told  him  that,  without  any  apparent  reason,  she  had 
suddenly  experienced  a  kind  of  shock,  and  she  immediately 
divined  that  her  son  was  in  great  danger  ;  the  impression  was 
so  powerful  that  she  immediately  sent  a  telegram  in  order  to 
obtain  news  of  him. 

"  I  should  prefer  to  sign  my  letter,  in  order  to  give  greater 
authenticity  to  my  story;  but  I  am,  you  see,  a  sta.te  official, 

269 


THE    UNKNOWN 

and  if  it  happens  that  you  think  it  best  to  quote  the  fact 
which  I  have  just  given,  I  shall  be  obliged  if  you  will  with- 
hold my  name  and  address.  R. 

"Algeria." 

Letter  398. 

XVI.  "I  had  once  a  friend  whom  circumstances  (for  he 
was  an  explorer)  obliged  to  live  at  a  great  distance  from  us. 
We  had  formed  the  delightful  habit  of  very  regular  corre- 
spondence, and,  little  by  little,  our  souls  acquired  such  affinity 
that  it  constantly  happened  that  when  we  wrote  to  each  other, 
at  the  same  hour,  we  said  exactly  the  same  things,  or  even 
answered  a  question  put  in  a  letter  at  the  moment  it  was 
asked.  For  example,  one  day,  uneasy  at  not  receiving  news, 
I  seized  a  pen  and  wrote  the  words:  *  Are  you  ill  ?'  At  the 
same  moment  (as  we  verified  later  on)  he  wrote  to  me :  ^  Do 
not  be  anxious,  the  illness  is  over.'  I  do  not  pretend  to  say 
that  this  was  a  real  vision,  but  certainly  it  seems  to  show  that 
in  tragic  moments  of  existence  two  souls  which  are  united 
by  profound  tenderness  may  be  able  to  mingle,  to  unite  them- 
selves, from  a  distance.  E.  Asinelli. 

*•  Geaeva."  Letter  443. 

XVII.  ''  One  day,  about  noon,  my  wife  was  overcome  by  an 
indefinable  feeling  of  discomfort;  unlike  anything  which  she 
has  since  experienced,  she  became  oppressed,  and  could  not 
remain  quiet.  She  went  to  a  collation,  to  which  she  had  been 
invited,  but  could  not  remain.  She  then  went  to  walk  in  the 
garden,  looking  for  some  one  to  talk  to.  The  uneasiness  con- 
tinued, and  it  was  not  until  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  that 
she  found  herself  suddenly  relieved,  and  felt  as  if  she  had 
not  experienced  anything. 

The  next  day  she  was  informed  that  her  father  had  died 
the  day  before  exactly  at  nine  o'clock.  She  had  not  thought 
of  her  father  at  all.  BusiN". 

"Neuville,  near  Poix-du-Nord. 

*f  P.S. — The  village  where  we  lived  was  about  fifteen  miles 
from  that  of  my  father-in-law." 

Letter  419. 
270 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

XVIII.  *'  It  often  happens  that  I  sing  to  myself  mentally 

a  well-known  air,  and  a  few  moments  afterwards  my  husband 

will  sing  aloud  the  same  air  which  I  had  in  my  head.     This 

has  been  the  subject  of  several  discussions  between  us,  which 

have  always  ended  by  amusing  us.  M.  C. 

"Grenoble." 

Letter  467. 

XIX.  "My  aunt — my  adopted  mother — loved  me  to  ex- 
cess, if  I  may  use  such  an  expression.  She  was  very  nervous, 
and  I  am  so  also.  Our  correspondence  was  very  frequent, 
above  all  in  the  early  period  of  our  separation,  and  I  observed 
that  whenever  I  had  reason  to  expect  a  letter  from  her  my 
thoughts  would  be  carried  with  great  intensity  towards  her 
on  the  day  before  the  arrival  of  her  letter,  which  was  not, 
however,  confined  to  a  fixed  date.  This  observation  has  been 
a  subject  of  much  thought  with  me.  0., 

"  Retired  Major,  at  Ri verse." 
Letter  507. 

XX.  ''One  night,  some  years  ago,  I  awoke  suddenly  with 
the  consciousness  that  one  of  my  patients.  Monsieur  X.,  who 
lived  rather  less  than  half  a  mile  away  from  me,  was  coming 
to  look  for  me.  I  sprang  from  my  bed ;  I  went  to  the  win- 
dow .  .  .  Some  minutes  later  I  saw  him  arrive.  His  wife 
was  ill,  and  he  begged  me  to  come  and  see  her. 

''  Several  experiences  of  this  kind  have  happened  to  me^ 

''Dr.  N." 
Letter  517. 

XXI.  "  I  give  here  the  only  case  which  I  have  observed  in 
this  class  of  ideas ;  its  sole  interest  lies  in  its  regularity.  I 
have  two  friends  who  are  abroad,  and  who  write  to  me  fre- 
quently, but  not  at  any  fixed  date.  Whenever  I  dream  of 
one  or  the  other,  it  almost  invariably  happens  that  in  the 
morning  the  postman  brings  me  a  letter  from  the  one  of 
whom  I  dreamed.  At  first  I  paid  no  attention  to  this,  but 
the  fact  forced  itself  upon  me,  and  since  then  I  have  very 
often  verified  it.     I  should  also  mention  that  the  dream  is 

271 


THE    UNKNOWN 

not  often  preceded  by  any  special  thought  which  might  in 

some  way  induce  and  explain  it.  Cl.   Charpoy. 

"Tournus." 

Letter  551. 

XXII.  ''  My  intimate  friend  all  one  day  suffered  an  intense 
physical  agony,  which  was  inexplicable.  On  the  same  day  I 
was  myself  overcome  with  the  deepest  depression  without 
having  the  slightest  suspicion  of  what  was  happening  to  her. 
I  was  at  Nantes ;  she  was  at  Geneva. 

"Or.  Champury. 
"Geneva." 

Letter  589. 

XXIII.  ''  In  1845  and  1846  I  was  a  student  in  a  French 
class  at  the  college  of  Alais  ;  although  I  was  a  Protestant  I 
was  on  the  best  terms  with  M.  Barely,  the  ctbbe  of  the  col- 
lege, and  when  religious  fetes  occurred  I  was,  together  with 
some  of  my  comrades,  intrusted  with  the  decorations  of  the 
chapel. 

^'We  made  use  of  our  brief  freedom  to  descend  into  the 
funeral  vault,  which  was  under  the  sacristy,  from  which  it 
was  possible  to  ascend  into  the  chapel  by  a  trap-door  and  a 
staircase  which  came  out  under  the  professor's  stall.  This 
vault  contained  the  remains  of  three  or  four  ancient  ahhes  of 
the  college,  whose  uncovered  and  more  or  less  shattered  cof- 
fins were  deposited  on  the  floor ;  the  low  ceiling  was  covered 
with  the  names  of  old  scholars  traced  in  candle-smoke.  I 
have  retained  an  ineffaceable  remembrance  of  this  vault. 

''Later  on,  in  1849  and  1850,  I  had  lived  at  Nimes.  M. 
Manlius  Salles,  librarian  there,  was  much  interested  in 
hypnotism,  and  we  often  talked  of  it.  He  wished  to  include 
me  among  his  subjects,  saying  that  being  an  architect  I 
could,  when  hypnotized,  describe  in  detail  the  buildings  in 
towns  where  they  would  conduct  me  by  thought  transmis- 
sion. I  agreed,  but,  although  he  made  every  effort,  he  could 
not  succeed  in  sending  me  to  sleep. 

"  One  day  I  took  part  in  a  very  interesting  seance  to  which 
he  had  invited  me.  I  found  there  a  woman  of  about  sixty 
years  of  age,  apparently  a  domestic  servant. 

372 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

"He  hypnotized  her,  and  put  me  in  communication  with 
her  by  joining  our  hands,  and  left  us  alone. 

"  The  recollection  of  the  vault  in  the  chapel  recurred  to 
my  memory,  and  I  determined  to  take  the  subject  there.  I 
told  her  that  we  would  take  the  train  for  Alais.  During  the 
whole  of  the  journey  the  upper  part  of  her  body  oscil- 
lated. 

**  On  arriving,  she  described  to  me  exactly  everything  that 
we  met  with  on  our  way  up  to  the  time  of  our  arrival  at  the 
college.  We  entered  the  vestibule  and  then  went  into  the 
chapel.  On  perceiving  the  altar  she  crossed  herself ;  we 
went  to  the  stall  on  the  left,  and  she  made  efforts  to  move 
it,  assisting  me  also  in  raising  the  flag-stone  which  formed  a 
trap-door.  I  lighted  a  candle,  I  gave  her  my  hand  to  lead 
her  down  the  little  staircase,  and  we  found  ourselves  in  the 
vault ;  she  trembled  with  fear,  and  wished  to  go  back. 

"  I  calmed  her,  and  leading  her  to  the  coffins,  I  begged 
her  to  describe  them. 

"'There  is  snow  on  that  one,'  she  said  to  me.  The  bier 
had  in  fact  been  filled  with  powdered  chalk. 

"  '  What  beautiful  hair  this  one  has.'  The  skull  was  really 
covered  with  thick  hair. 

"  'Raise  the  drapery  of  the  one  on  that  side,'  I  said.  *  Oh,' 
she  exclaimed,  '  how  beautiful  it  is !  It  is  silk  and  gold  !' 
What  she  saw  was  one  of  the  ahbes  dressed  in  his  ecclesiasti- 
cal robes. 

"  '  Look  at  the  ceiling ;  I  will  throw  light  on  it  for  you. 
What  do  you  see  ?'  *  Names,'  she  said.  '  Read  them.'  She 
read  five  or  six  which  I  remembered  very  well. 

"We  went  back  to  the  chapel,  and  I  told  her  that  we 
would  return  on  foot  to  Anduze. 

"  On  the  way,  she  gave  me  a  mass  of  details  in  regard  to 
the  country  through  which  we  passed,  all  of  them  perfectly 
correct. 

"When  we  arrived  at  Anduze,  I  took  her  into  the  house 
of  a  friend  ;  it  was  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening ;  she  de- 
scribed to  me  the  house,  the  staircase,  the  salo7i  ....  I 
then  asked  her  to  indicate  the  persons  present.     She  an- 

273 


THE    UNKNOWN 

swered  that  she  did  not  know  them  ....  On  this,  I  reflected 
that  I  did  not  know  tliem  myself,  and  that  it  was  impossible 
for  me  to  transmit  any  thought  about  them  to  her. 

''Melvil  Koux, 
"Architect  at  Tourac,  near  Anduze  Gard." 
Letter  650. 

XXIV.  ''  I  have  recently  treated  and  cured,  by  hypnotism, 
the  wife  of  one  of  my  friends,  who  suffered  for  nearly  eigh- 
teen years  from  a  very  painful  affection.  The  treatment, 
which  she  received  daily  from  me,  lasted  about  six  months, 
and,  as  often  happens  in  such  cases,  between  the  magnetizer 
and  the  subject,  she  came  completely  under  my  influence.  I 
will  not  repeat  to  you  here  all  the  phenomena  which  I  was 
able  to  produce  with  her,  such  as  manifestations  of  gout, 
sensations  of  heat  and  of  cold,  etc.,  they  are  too  well  known, 
and  too  easily  ascribable  to  the  imagination.  But,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  above,  she  perceived,  involuntarily  on  my  part, 
all  my  sensations,  even  at  a  distance,  and  this  could  not  be 
considered  a  question  of  the  imagination.  For  instance,  it 
would  happen  that  she  would  say  to  me :  ^Yesterday,  at  such 
an  hour  you  quarrelled  with  some  one;^  or  else,  'You  were 
sad ;  what  happened  to  you  T  In  short,  I  have  been  able  to 
satisfy  myself  that  she  felt  all  my  impressions  at  a  very  great 
distance  ;  at  least,  I  have  been  able  to  verify  this  for  a  dis- 
tance of  nearly  two  miles. 

''  I  have  had  also  another  subject,  this  time  a  man,  whom  I 
caused  to  come  to  my  house  by  an  effort  of  will.  Nothing 
was  necessary  but  that  I  should  think  of  it  intently.  *  Why,' 
I  said  to  him  one  day,  '  have  you  come  at  such  an  extraor- 
dinary hour  ?'  '  Ah,  well,  I  do  not  know  ;  the  fancy  took 
me  all  at  once.  I  had  a  wish  to  see  you,  and  here  I  am.'  "Where 
can  there  be  imagination  in  all  this  ? 

^'  Just  as  there  is  a  natural  somnambulism  and  an  induced 
somnambulism,  so  there  is  both  a  voluntary  and  an  involun- 
tary hypnotism;  and  it  is  this  which  explains  natural  sympa- 
thies and  antipathies.  De.  X. 

"Valparaiso." 

Letter  675. 
274 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

These  cases  cannot  reasonably  be  attributed  to  chance 
any  more  than  the  preceding  ones.  (Some  of  the  meetings, 
foreseen  beforehand^  may  have  occurred  by  a  chance  resem- 
blance to  meetings  which  preceded  them,  but  this  is  evident- 
ly the  exception.)  They  prove  the  existence  of  thought  com- 
munication. We  shall  present  a  few  more  to  the  attention 
of  our  readers.  The  following  is  taken  from  the  work 
Phantasms  of  the  Living. 

Mr.  A.  Skirving,  master  mason  at  the  cathedral  at  Win- 
chester, writes  thus  to  the  authors  of  that  volume : 

XXV.  ^'  I  am  not  a  scholar.  I  left  school  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  pardon  my  errors  in  gram- 
mar. I  am  head  mason  at  the  cathedral  at  Winchester,  and 
I  have  lived  for  nine  years  in  that  town.  Thirty  years  ago 
I  lived  in  London,  very  near  the  situation  at  present  occu- 
pied by  the  Great  Western  Eailway.  I  worked  in  the  Re- 
gent^s  Park  for  Messrs.  Mowlem,  Burt,  and  Freeman.  The 
distance  from  my  house  was  too  great  for  me  to  return  for 
meals,  so  I  took  my  dinner  with  me,  and  I  did  not  leave  my 
work  during  the  day.  One  day  I  suddenly  felt  an  intense 
desire  to  return  home.  As  I  had  nothing  to  do  there  I  tried 
to  rid  myself  of  this  idea,  but  without  success.  The  desire 
to  go  home  increased  from  minute  to  minute.  It  was  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  there  was  nothing  which  should 
take  me  from  my  work  at  that  hour.  I  became  uneasy  and 
uncomfortable  ;  I  felt  that  I  must  go  home  even  at  the  risk 
of  being  laughed  at  by  my  wife.  I  could  give  no  reason  for 
leaving  my  work  and  losing  sixpence  an  hour  for  my  foolish- 
ness.    All  the  same  I  could  not  remain.     I  set  out  for  home. 

'''  When  I  arrived  at  the  door  of  my  house  I  knocked  ;  my 
wife's  sister  opened  it.  She  seemed  surprised,  and  said  to 
me,  'Well,  Skirving,  how  did  you  know  it  ?'  ''Know  what?' 
I  said.  'About  Mary  Anne'  (my  wife).  I  said  to  her,  'I 
know  nothing  about  Mary  Anne.'  '  Then  what  brought  you 
home  at  this  hour  ?'  I  answered,  '  I  do  not  know.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  I  was  needed  here.     What  has  happened  ?' 

"  She  told  me  that  a  cab  had  run  over  my  wife  about  an 
hour  before,  and  that  she  was  severely  injured.     She  had 

275 


THE    UNKNOWN 

asked  for  me  incessantly  ever  since  the  accident.  She  held 
out  her  arms  to  me,  clasped  them  round  my  neck,  and  laid 
my  head  on  her  breast.  Her  excitement  passed  off  immedi- 
ately, and  my  presence  calmed  her ;  she  fell  asleep  and 
rested  peacefully.  Her  sister  told  me  that  she  had  uttered 
most  pitiful  cries,  calling  me,  although  there  was  not  the 
least  probability  that  I  should  come. 

"  This  short  account  has  only  one  merit — it  is  strictly  true. 

''Alexander  Skirting. 

a  p.S. — The  accident  took  place  an  hour  and  a  half  before 
my  arrival.  This  time  coincided  exactly  with  that  at  which 
I  experienced  the  impulse  to  leave  my  work.  It  took  me  an 
hour  to  reach  home,  and  I  had  struggled  hard  for  half  an 
hour  before  I  left,  in  order  to  overcome  my  desire  to  go 
home." 

All  these  examples  show  that  there  are  currents  between 
brains,  between  minds,  between  hearts  ;  currents  which 
arise  from  a  force  still  unknown. 

Professor  Silvio  Venturi,  director  of  the  lunatic  asylum  at 
Girifalco,  wrote  thus  upon  the  18th  of  September,  1892  : 

XXVI.  ''In  July,  1885,  I  lived  at  Nocera.  I  went  one 
day  with  a  companion  to  make  a  visit  to  my  brother  at  Poz- 
zuoli,  a  three-hours'  journey  by  railroad. 

"  I  left  every  one  at  home  in  good  health.  I  was  in  the 
habit  of  staying  two  days  at  Pozzuoli,  and  sometimes  a  little 
longer.  We  arrived  at  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  After 
taking  some  refreshment,  we  planned  a  boating-party  with 
my  relatives.  All  at  once  I  was  stopped  by  a  sudden 
thought,  and  taking  an  energetic  resolution,  I  declared  that 
I  did  not  wish  to  go  in  the  boat,  and  that,  on  the  contrary,  I 
must  return  at  once  to  Nocera.  They  objected,  saying  that 
I  was  absurd.  I  was  myself  sensible  of  the  eccentricity  of 
my  resolution,  but  I  did  not  hesitate,  for  I  felt  an  irresistible 
impulse  to  return  home. 

"  Seeing  my  determination,  they  allowed  me  to  set  out.  My 
companion  went  with  me  against  his  will.  I  hired  a  little 
carriage,  with  a  horse  so  thin  and  so  slow  that  he  went  at  a 

276 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

walk  instead  of  a  trot.  Then,  fearing  to  lose  the  train  at 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  (which  was  the  last),  I  urged 
the  driver,  but  the  poor  exhausted  beast  could  not  go  faster. 
At  last  we  got  down  and  succeeded  in  getting  another  car- 
riage in  time  for  the  train. 

"  My  house  at  Nocera  is  situated  about  three  hundred  yards 
from  the  railway  station,  but  I  had  not  patience  to  go  home 
on  foot,  and  got  into  a  friend's  carriage,  leaving  my  com- 
panion to  come  on  after  me.  When  I  reached  my  own 
house  I  was  shocked  to  see  four  physicians,  MM.  Ven- 
tra.  Ganger,  Eoscioli,  and  the  physician  of  the  town.  All 
were  gathered  round  the  bed  of  my  dear  child,  who  was 
attacked  with  croup  and  in  danger  of  death.  The  malady 
was  not  in  that  part  of  the  country.  The  croup  had  developed 
at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  almost  at  the  hour  when  I 
felt  the  impulse  to  return  home  as  quickly  as  possible.  I 
had  thus  the  delight  of  contributing  by  my  presence  to  his 
recovery.  Before  my  arrival  my  wife  had  wept  and  called 
to  me  with  agony. "» 

Do  not  all  these  numerous  facts  show  the  existence  of 
psychic  currents  between  living  human  beings  ?  These 
proofs  are  of  the  highest  importance  for  the  knowledge  which 
we  are  seeking  to  obtain  by  these  investigations  of  the  nat- 
ure and  the  faculties  of  the  human  soul. 

Here  is  another  document  of  the  same  kind ;  in  this  way 
one  confirms  another. 

M.  Lasseron,  registrar  at  Chatellerault,  writes  under  the 
date  of  the  31st  of  January,  1894:' 

XXVII.  "  An  attorney,  who  belonged  to  the  national 
guard,  found  himself  in  the  guard  -  room.  Suddenly  the 
fancy  seized  him  to  go  home  without  notifying  any  one. 
As  he  was  under  arms,  not  even  the  head  of  the  post  could 
have  permitted  him  to  do  so  ;  besides,  he  had  no  sufficient 
reason  to  give  for  his  absence.  It  was  a  crochet  which  was 
in  his  head,  and  in  spite  of  the  prison  which  threatened  him 

*  Annates  dea  sciences  psychiques,  1893,  p.  331. 
^Ibid.,  1894,  p.  268. 

277 


THE    UNKNOWN 

(he  would  be  under  arrest  for  a  week  in  consequence  of  this 
breach  of  discipline)  he  laid  aside  his  gun  and  went  home  at 
a  run. 

*'  On  arriving  he  found  his  wife  in  tears,  surrounded  by 
doctors  in  attendance  upon  the  sick-bed  of  her  daughter,  six 
years  of  age,  who  was  dangerously  ill  of  croup.  .  .  .  This 
complaint  was  not  in  the  town. 

"  The  unexpected  appearance  of  the  father  seemed  to  pro- 
duce a  reaction  so  favorable  that  the  child  recovered.  She 
afterwards  married  the  brother-in-law  of  a  judge,  who  told 
me  of  this  extraordinary  occurrence  ;  and  she  died  before 
reaching  her  twenty-fifth  year. 

*'It  was  necessary  to  employ  the  strongest  influence  in 
order  to  escape  the  penalty  of  a  week  in  prison,  and  it  was 
only  remitted  in  consideration  of  this  strange  fact  in  teles- 
thesia.  Laisserois', 

"  Registrar  at  Chatellerault.'" 

Dr.  Aime  Guinard,  hospital  surgeon  at  Paris,  now  living 
in  Paris  in  the  Rue  de  Rennes,  narrates  the  following  (Oc- 
tober, 1891) : 

XVIII.  "  The  dentist  whom  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
employing  is  one  of  my  friends,  who  lives  at  some  distance 
from  me  in  the  quartier  de  FOpera.  As  his  practice  has 
considerably  increased,  and  as  I  have  not  the  leisure  to  wait 
a  long  time  in  his  waiting-room,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  ask 
some  attention  of  one  of  my  colleagues,  M.  Martial  Lagrange, 
whose  office  is  a  few  steps  from  my  house. 

*'I  give  these  details  in  order  to  show  that  I  was  not  on 
terms  of  intimacy  with  the  latter.  I  had,  in  fact,  met  him 
for  the  first  time  the  beginning  of  this  year. 

"  One  evening  in  the  month  of  September  I  went  to  bed, 
as  usual,  about  half-past  eleven  ;  towards  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning  I  was  seized  with  the  most  unbearable  toothache, 
and  I  remained  awake  all  the  rest  of  the  night.  The  pain 
was  sufficient  to  keep  me  awake,  but  not  enough  to  make  it 
impossible  for  me  to  think  of  my  current  affairs.  As  I  was 
about  to  finish  an  article  on  the  surgical  treatment  of  cancer 

278 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

of  the  stomach,  I  passed  a  part  of  the  time  in  meditating  on 
this  subject  and  in  making  a  plan  for  my  last  chapter.  My 
mental  work  was  often  interrupted  by  a  paroxysm  of  pain, 
and  I  resolved  to  go  as  soon  as  it  was  light  to  find  M.  Martial 
Lagrange,  in  order  to  have  the  aching  tooth  extracted. 

*'  I  call  special  attention  to  the  following  point :  During 
that  long  period  of  sleeplessness  my  thoughts  had  been  ex- 
clnsively  concentrated  on  these  two  subjects  (and  with  all 
the  more  intensity  because  everything  around  me  was  in  the 
stillness  and  darkness  of  night) — that  is,  on  one  part  of  my 
cuticle,  on  the  surgical  treatment  of  cancer  of  the  stomach, 
where  I  treat  of  the  extirpation  of  the  tumor  by  the  bistoury ; 
and  upon  the  dentist  just  spoken  of  and  the  extraction  of 
my  aching  tooth. 

"  Towards  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  arrived  in  the  den- 
tist's waiting  -  room,  and  as  soon  as  M.  Martial  Lagrange 
raised  the  portiere  of  his  cabinet,  he  cried  ;  '  How  strange  ! 
I  dreamed  of  you  all  last  night.' 

"I  answered  him,  jokingly  :  '  I  hope,  at  least,  that  your 
dream  was  not  very  disagreeable,  although  I  was  concerned 
in  it.' 

**' Indeed,'  he  said,  'it  was  a  horrible  nightmare;  I  had 
a  cancer  in  the  stomach,  and  I  was  possessed  with  the  idea 
that  you  were  going  to  open  my  abdomen  in  order  to  cure  it.' 

"  Now,  I  affirm  that  M.  Martial  Lagrange  was  absolutely 
ignorant  that  the  night  before  I  was  studying  this  particular 
question  ;  I  had  only  known  him  for  six  months,  and  we  had 
not  a  friend  in  common. 

^'I  will  add  that  he  is  a  man  of  about  forty -five,  neuro- 
pathic, and  very  emotional. 

"  I  give  the  fact  in  all  its  simplicity  ;  it  is  not  a  recital  at 
second  or  third  hand,  since  it  was  I,  myself,  who  was  con- 
cerned in  it.  Is  it  a  simple  coincidence  ?  This  seems  to  me 
most  improbable. 

''Is  it  not  rather  an  observation  corroborating  authentic 
cases  of  telepathy  ?  What  is  noteworthy  in  it  was  my  own 
condition  the  evening  before,  and  the  mind  of  the  dentist, 
which  was  influenced  or  affected  by  suggestion  during  sleep. 

279 


THE    UNKNOWN 

'*  It  is  a  common  saying,  which  has  probably  existed  for 
ages,  when  some  one  who  is  absent  is  under  discussion,  '  His 
ears  must  burn/  Is  it  possible  that  this  saying  is  based  on 
facts  of  telepathy  analogous  to  my  own  ?" 

Observations  of  this  kind  are  not  of  recent  date  only.  Here 
is  an  experiment  reported  by  my  lamented  friend,  Dr.  Ma- 
cario,  in  his  most  interesting  book,  Le  Sommeil  : 

XXIX.  ^'^One  evening  Dr.  Grosmer,  after  having  put  an 
hysterical  woman  to  sleep  by  hypnotism,  asked  the  woman^s 
husband  to  permit  him  to  make  an  experiment  and  see  what 
happened.  Without  uttering  a  word,  he  took  her  to  the  open 
sea — mentally,  be  it  understood.  The  sick  woman  was  quiet 
as  long  as  the  water  was  calm ;  but  soon  the  hypnotizer  raised 
a  fearful  tempest  in  his  own  thoughts,  and  the  sick  woman 
began  to  utter  piercing  cries  and  to  hold  on  to  surrounding 
objects ;  her  voice,  her  tears,  the  expression  of  her  face  dis- 
played overpowering  terror.  Then  he  subdued  the  storm  in 
his  own  thoughts  by  degrees,  and  reduced  the  violence  of  the 
waves.  They  ceased  to  agitate  the  ship,  and,  following  the 
progress  of  their  subsidence,  calm  returned  to  the  mind  of 
the  somnambulist,  although  she  still  displayed  a  rapid  respi- 
ration and  a  nervous  trembling  in  all  her  limbs.  '  Never 
take  me  to  sea  again,'  she  cried,  an  instant  after,  with  excite- 
ment ;  '  I  am  too  much  afraid ;  and  that  miserable  captain 
who  did  not  wish  to  let  us  come  up  on  the  bridge  !'  '  This 
exclamation  impressed  us  so  much  the  more,'  said  M.  Gros- 
mer, '  because  I  had  not  uttered  a  single  word  which  could 
indicate  to  her  the  nature  of  the  experiment  which  I  intended 
to  make.'" 

Dr.  Macario  also  reports  the  following  experiments : 

XXX.  ^^  A  field  was  to  be  sold,  by  process  of  law,  in  a  vil- 
lage in  the  neighborhood  of  Paris.  Nobody  put  in  a  bid  for 
it,  although  the  value  set  upon  it  was  exceedingly  low,  be- 
cause the  field  was  in  the  possession  of  a  certain  Father 
G.,  who  was  considered  by  the  peasants  to  be  a  danger- 
ous magician.  After  long  hesitation  a  farmer  named  L., 
tempted  by  the  cheapness  of  the  land,  ventured  to  bid,  and 
became  the  possessor  of  it. 

280 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

'*  The  next  morning  this  man,  his  spade  on  his  shoulder, 
went  singing  to  his  new  property,  when  a  sinister  object  met 
his  eyes.  It  was  a  wooden  cross,  to  which  was  fastened  a 
paper  containing  these  words:  *If  you  put  your  spade  into 
that  field  a  spectre  will  come  and  torment  you  in  the  night/ 
The  farmer  overturned  the  cross,  and  began  to  work  in  the 
ground,  but  he  was  not  very  brave.  In  spite  of  himself  he 
thought  of  the  spectre  which  had  been  announced  to  him.  He 
left  his  work,  returned  home,  and  went  to  bed ;  but  his  nerves 
were  overexcited,  and  he  could  not  sleep.  At  midnight  he 
saw  a  tall,  white  figure  enter  his  chamber,  and,  approaching 
him,  it  said,  ^Give  me  back  my  field.' 

'^The  apparition  returned  on  succeeding  nights.  The 
farmer  was  seized  with  a  fever.  He  related  the  vision  which 
had  taken  possession  of  him  to  the  doctor,  who  had  in- 
quired into  the  cause  of  his  illness,  and  declared  his  convic- 
tion that  Father  G.  had  thrown  a  spell  upon  him.  The 
doctor  obliged  the  latter  to  appear  before  the  mayor  of  the 
village,  and  questioned  him.  The  magician  admitted  that 
every  night  at  midnight  he  walked  about  his  own  house 
dressed  in  a  white  sheet  for  the  purpose  of  tormenting  the 
owner  of  his  field.  On  being  threatened  with  arrest  if  he 
continued  to  do  so,  he  left  off.  The  apparitions  ceased, 
and  the  farmer  recovered  his  health." 

How  could  this  sorcerer,  walking  about  his  house,  have 
been  seen  by  a  peasant  whose  house  was  nearly  a  mile  off  ? 
We  will  not  attempt  to  explain  this  phenomenon.  We  will 
only  remark  that  it  is  not  without  precedent,  and  that  it 
rests  upon  an  unimpeachable  authority — that  of  the  cele- 
brated Dr.  Eecamier. 

XXXI.  *^M.  Eecamier  was  coming  from  Bordeaux,  and 
when  travelling  through  a  village  in  a  post-chaise,  one  of  the 
wheels  of  his  carriage  threatened  to  come  off.  They  drove 
to  the  house  of  the  wheelwright,  which  was  near  at  hand. 
But  this  man  was  ill  in  bed,  and  they  were  forced  to  send 
for  one  of  his  acquaintances  who  lived  in  the  neighboring 
village.  While  waiting  for  the  wheel  to  be  repaired,  M. 
Eecamier  entered  the   house  of  the  sick  peasant,  and  put 

281 


THE    UNKNOWN 

some  questions  to  him  on  the  cause  of  his  illness.  The 
wheelwright  answered  that  his  illness  proceeded  from  lack 
of  sleep.  He  could  not  sleep  because  a  tinker  who  lived  at 
the  other  end  of  the  village,  and  to  whom  he  had  refused  to 
marry  his  daughter,  prevented  him  by  knocking  all  night 
long  on  his  kettles. 

'^The  doctor  sought  out  the  tinker,  and  asked  him,  without 
any  preamble  : 

"  '  Why  do  you  knock  all  night  on  your  kettles  T 

'"'To  prevent  Nicholas  from  sleeping,  to  be  sure/ replied 
the  tinker. 

*'  ^  How  can  Nicholas  hear  you  when  he  lives  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  here  T 

*''0h,'  answered  the  peasant,  smiling  in  a  malicious  man- 
ner, ^I  take  care  that  he  hears  me.^ 

^'  M.  Eecamier  insisted  that  the  tinker  should  discontinue 
his  knocking,  and  threatened  him  with  prosecution  if  the 
sick  man  died.  On  the  following  night  the  wheelwright  slept 
peacefully.  Some  days  afterwards  he  resumed  his  occupa- 
tions. 

'^'In  the  observations  accompanying  the  narration  of  this 
experience,  Dr.  Recamier  attributed  it  to  the  power  of  the 
will,  a  force  whose  strength  was  not  yet  understood,  and 
which  had  been  spontaneously  revealed  to  an  ignorant  peas- 
ant. The  phenomenon,  however,  will  not  seem  extraordinary 
to  those  who  understand  hypnotism. ^^ 

General  Noizet,  one  of  the  most  earnest  and  most  accu- 
rate of  the  authors  who  have  written  on  magnetism,  reports 
the  following  story.  ^ 

'^  About  1842  I  was  invited  to  spend  an  evening  at  the 
house  of  one  of  my  old  comrades,  where  some  of  the  wonders 
of  somnambulism  were  to  be  displayed.  I  accepted  ;  it  was 
the  first  time  that  I  had  been  present  at  this  kind  of  exhi- 
bition, which  was,  however,  of  common  occurrence  in  the 
Paris  salons,  and  I  have  not  taken  part  in  one  since. 

^  Memoire  sur  le  somnambuUsme  et  le  magnetisme  animal,  adresse  en  1830 
K  TAcademie  de  Berlin,  et  public  avec  additions  en  1854. 

283 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

'^I  found  there  about  forty  persons,  some  of  them  adepts, 
who  were  more  or  less  excited,  and  a  great  many  unbelievers, 
foremost  among  whom  was  the  master  of  the  house.  I  had 
small  expectations  from  the  seance,  and,  in  truth,  the  exper- 
iments in  vision  from  a  distance,  reading  concealed  letters — • 
all  the  miracles,  in  short — failed  completely,  and  the  number 
of  striking  facts  which  remained  was  not  sufficient  to  soberly 
convince  an  assembly  of  such  size,  and  one  of  such  different 
sentiments. 

'^ Talking  with  several  persons  in  regard  to  this  failure  and 
its  results,  I  observed  to  the  master  of  the  house  that  it  was 
not  by  representations  of  this  kind  that  one  could  convince 
one^s  self  of  the  reality  of  these  phenomena;  that  such  experi- 
ments, if  they  were  conducted  in  a  large  assembly  of  people 
who  were  strangers  to  one  another,  would  imply,  even  if  they 
were  successful,  some  collusion  or  deception,  and  that  in  order 
to  observe  the  experiments  correctly  it  would  be  necessary  to 
see  them  tete-d-tete,  or  in  a  very  small  company,  where  it  was 
possible  to  examine  them  on  all  sides  and  to  repeat  them 
often. 

"One  of  the  persons  present  applauded  my  words.  He 
said  that  he  knew  an  excellent  somnambulist,  and  proposed 
to  us  to  make  some  experiments  with  her,  in  the  presence  of 
the  master  of  the  house  only,  and  at  the  residence  of  a  com- 
mon friend.     We  acce23ted,  and  fixed  a  day  not  far  distant. 

"I  arrived  at  my  friend's  house  before  the  hypnotizer  and 
his  somnambulist,  and  I  learned  that  among  other  extraordi- 
nary faculties  which  this  somnambulist  was  supposed  to 
possess  was  that  of  being  able  to  tell  what  a  person,  with 
whom  she  was  placed  in  communication,  had  done  during  the 
day.  It  happened  by  chance  that  I  had  that  day  made 
rather  an  unusual  excursion.  I  had  gone  up  to  the  roof  of 
the  Hotel  des  Invalides  with  the  Due  de  Montpensier,  in 
order  to  show  him  the  plan  of  the  fortifications.  I  proposed 
to  make  use  of  myself  as  a  trial  of  this  faculty  possessed  by 
the  somnambulist,  and  the  proposition  was  accepted  by  my 
two  friends. 

'^The  somnambulist  arrived  and  was  put  to  sleep,  after 

283 


THE    UNKNOWN 

which  I  put  myself  at  once  in  connection  with  her,  and  in- 
quired if  she  could  tell  what  I  had  done  during  the  day. 

"■After  some  insignificant  details,  obtained  with  difficulty, 
as  to  the  disposal  of  my  morning,  I  asked  her  where  I  had 
gone  after  luncheon.  She  answered,  without  hesitation,  to  the 
Tuileries,  which  could,  however,  easily  have  been  simply  for 
the  purpose  of  a  walk.  I  persisted,  asking  her  where  I  had 
entered  the  Tuileries,  and  she  answered,  still  correctly,  by 
the  entrance  at  the  quay,  near  the  Pont  Royal.  '  And  what 
then  T  '  You  went  into  the  chateau.^  '  By  which  staircase  ? 
Was  it  the  one  in  the  middle  ?'  *  No,  it  was  by  that  in  the 
corner  near  the  entrance.'  At  this  point  she  became  puzzled 
about  the  staircases,  and  they  are  really  very  confusing,  for 
there  are  several :  the  grand  staircase  in  use  at  the  pavilion 
de  Flore,  and  the  staircase  to  the  king's  apartments,  with 
their  various  landing-places,  and  the  steps  leading  from  one 
to  another.  Then  she  took  me  into  a  large  hall  where  there 
were  officers.  It  was  a  waiting-room  on  the  rez-de-chaussee. 
'  You  were  expected,'  she  said  to  me.  '  And  what  then  ?' 
'A  tall  young  man  came,  who  spoke  with  you.'  'Who  was 
this  young  man?'  '  I  do  not  know  him.'  '  Look  carefully.' 
'Ah,  it  is  the  king's  son.'  'Which  one?'  '  I  do  not  know.' 
'  It  is  not  at  all  difficult  to  tell ;  there  are  only  two  of  the  king's 
sons  in  Paris,  the  Due  de  Nemours  and  the  Due  de  Mont- 
pensier;  is  it  the  Due  de  Nemours  ?'  'I  do  not  know.'  I  told 
her  that  it  was  the  Due  de  Montpensier.  'And  after  this?' 
'You  got  into  a  carriage.'  '  Alone?'  '  No,  with  the  prince.' 
'How  was  I  seated?'  'Backwards,  on  the  left.'  'Were  we 
alone  in  the  carriage  ?'  '  No,  there  was  another  large  gen- 
tleman on  the  front  seat.'  '  Who  was  this  gentleman?'  '  I 
do  not  know.'  '  Try.'  After  some  reflection,  she  said,  '  It 
was  the  king.'  'What !'  I  said  to  her,  'I  on  the  back  seat, 
and  the  king  sat  forwards  ;  that  does  not  seem  likely.'  '  I  do 
not  know,  I  do  not  know  that  gentleman.'  '  Ah,  well,  it  was 
the  prince's  aide-de-camp.'  'I  do  not  know  him.'  'Where 
did  we  go?'  '  You  followed  the  river.'  '  And  then  ?'  '  You 
went  into  a  large  chdteau.'  '  What  was  that  chdteau  f  '  I  do 
not  know  ;  there  were  trees  before  coming  to  it.'     '  Look  at- 

284 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

tentively;  yon  ought  to  recognize  it.'  *  No,  I  do  not  know 
it.'  I  abandoned  this  question,  and  I  said  to  her,  in  order 
to  continue :  '  You  were  in  a  large  hall !'  Then  she  gave  me 
a  description,  from  her  imagination,  of  a  hall  where  she  saw 
stars  shining  on  a  white  ground.  Then  she  said  to  me : 
'There  were  large  tables  there.'  'And  what  was  on  those 
tables  ?'  '  Something  which  was  not  high,  but  was  not  en- 
tirely flat  ?'  1  could  not  induce  her  to  tell  me  that  they  were 
plans  in  relief,  things  which,  no  doubt,  she  had  never  seen. 
'What  did  we  do  then,  at  these  tables?'  'You  showed 
something.  You  got  on  a  chair,  and  you  pointed  out  some- 
thing with  a  stick.'  This  remarkable  item  was  perfectly  cor- 
rect. Then,  after  a  great  deal  of  hesitation,  she  said  that  we 
got  into  a  carriage  and  drove  away.  I  said  to  her  then, 
'  Look  backwards ;  you  ought  to  recognize  the  place  we 
came  from.'  '  Ah,'  said  she,  as  though  astonished  and  a  lit- 
tle confused,  '  it  is  the  Hotel  des  Invalides.'  She  then  added 
that  the  prince  had  left  me  at  my  own  door,  which  was 
true. 

"  Although  I  was  familiar  with  the  phenomena  of  somnam- 
bulism, this  scene  struck  me  a  great  deal,  and  I  can  only  at- 
tribute the  species  of  divination  displayed  by  the  somnam- 
bulist to  a  faculty  enabling  her  to  read  in  my  mind  or  in 
impressions  still  existing  in  my  brain.  This  continues  to  be 
the  only  explanation  I  can  give." 

Here  is  a  second  experience  reported  by  the  same  author. 

XXIII.  "  About  two  years  ago  a  somnambulist  advised  me 
to  take  baths  of  dry  sulphuric  vapor  for  the  relief  of  pain, 
and  directed  me  to  an  establishment  in  the  Rue  de  la  Victoire, 
as  the  only  one  in  Paris  where  they  were  well  conducted. 

"  This  advice  seemed  to  me  reasonable,  and  I  followed  it. 

"  The  master  of  the  establishment  was  a  great  talker,  and 
he  was  an  old  man  of  frank  manners  and  appearance.  He 
asked  me  one  day  who  had  recommended  his  baths  to  me. 
As  I  avoided  answering,  he  said:  'Was  it  not  Madame  D.?' 
Thereupon  I  asked  him  if  he  knew  that  lady.  He  answered 
*no,'  but  that  he  was  very  desirous  of  knowing  her,  and 
that  he  intended  some  day  to  go  and  see  her,  because  she  had 

285 


THE    UNKNOWN 

done  him  a  service  in  a  very  extraordinary  manner.     Here  is 
what  he  told  me  about  the  matter: 

"  Some  one  to  whom  he  had  been  giving  the  baths  for  some 
time,  said  to  him  one  day  :  *  Something  very  astonishing  has 
just  happened  to  me,  which  also  relates  to  yon.  I  sometimes 
go  to  consult  a  somnambulist  in  regard  to  my  illness,  and  I 
returned  there  yesterday  after  a  long  absence.  As  soon  as  she 
recognized  me  she  said:  "You  are  getting  very  much  better; 
what  have  you  done  to  put  yourself  in  such  good  condition  T^ 
"  Try  to  find  out  \"  I  said  to  her.  ''  You  have  taken  baths, 
but  they  were  not  ordinary  baths ;  they  were  dry  sulphur 
baths.  Where  did  you  go  to  take  these  baths  ?"  "  Try  to 
find  out."  "Ah,  I  know;  it  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  boule- 
vards. It  is  not  in  the  Rue  de  Provence,  but  in  the  street 
beyond."  "At  what  number  ?"  "  Try  once  more."  "  It  is 
at  number  46,  but  the  bathing  -  house  is  not  in  the  same 
establishment;  it  is  at  the  end  of  the  third  court,  on  the  rez- 
de-chaussee.''     All  these  details  were  perfectly  exact.' 

"  I  spoke  of  this  fact  to  the  somnambulist  during  her  sleep, 
and  she  confirmed  it,  using,  moreover,  a  tone  of  perfect  indif- 
ference, and  what  astonished  me  in  regard  to  her  was  that  I 
knew  she  disliked,  from  habit,  doubtless,  to  give  her  attention 
to  anything  except  what  concerned  sick  people.  In  the  above 
case,  she  had  read  in  the  brain  of  the  lady  who  consulted  her." 

Here  is  a  still  more  curious  fact  reported  by  Dr.  Ber- 
trand : 

XXXIV.  "A  hypnotizer  who  was  very  much  imbued  with 
mystical  ideas  had  a  subject  who  saw  only  angels  and  spirits 
of  different  kinds  during  sleep ;  these  visions  served  to  con- 
firm the  hypnotizer  more  and  more  in  his  religious  belief. 
He  always  quoted  the  dreams  of  his  subject  in  support  of  his 
system,  and,  consequently,  another  magnetizer  of  his  acquaint- 
ance undertook  to  enlighten  him  by  showing  him  that  his 
subject  had  no  visions  except  what  he  himself  conveyed  to  her, 
because  the  form  of  delusion  existed  in  his  own  mind.  In 
order  to  prove  this  he  undertook  to  make  the  same  subject 
see  a  reunion  of  the  angels  in  paradise  at  table,  and  engaged 
in  eating  a  turhey. 

286 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

''  He  put  the  subject  to  sleep,  therefore,  and  at  the  end  of 
some  time  he  asked  her  if  she  did  not  see  something  extraor- 
dinary. The  subject  answered  that  she  saw  a  great  assem- 
bly of  angels.  '  And  what  are  they  doing  V  said  the  hypno- 
tizer.  '  They  are  gathered  around  a  table  and  they  are  eat- 
ing.'  The  subject  was  not  able,  however,  to  tell  what  dish, 
they  had  before  them.^'' 

Aside  from  these  remarkable  facts,  and  from  many  others 
of  the  same  kind,  a  great  number  of  general  observations 
concur  in  proving  that  the  ideas,  and  more  especially  the 
opinions,  of  hypnotizers  can  be  perceived  by  their  subjects. 

It  has  been  observed,  for  instance,  that  all  subjects  who 
are  put  to  sleep  by  the  same  person  have  the  same  ideas 
under  hypnotic  trances,  and  that  ihose  ideas  are  precisely 
those  of  their  hypnotizer.  Thus,  when  a  hypnotizer,  who  is 
persuaded  of  the  existence  of  a  magnetic  fluid,  asks  his  sub- 
ject if  he  feels  the  action  of  the  fluid,  the  latter  answers  that 
he  does  feel  it,  and  states  in  addition  that  he  sees  the  hypno- 
tizer surrounded  by  a  luminous  atmosphere,  sometimes  shin- 
ing, sometimes  azure,  etc.  On  the  other  hand,  subjects  who 
are  put  to  sleep  by  persons  who  do  not  admit  the  existence 
of  any  special  fluid,  assert  that  no  magnetic  fluid  exists. 
Those  who  are  put  to  sleep  by  superstitious  men  see  demons 
and  angels,  who  come  to  communicate  with  them  and  make 
them  revelations,  or  bring  them  secrets.  Somnambulists  ob- 
served by  the  Swedenborgian  Society  of  Stockholm  believed 
themselves  entirely  inspired  by  spirits  from  another  world, 
who  for  some  time  had  inhabited  human  bodies.  These 
ghosts  spoke  of  what  passed  in  paradise  or  in  the  infernal  re- 
gions, and  repeated  a  thousand  stories, which  filled  those  who 
listened  to  them  with  a  holy  admiration.  Catholics,  who 
believe  in  purgatory,  see  souls  begging  for  masses  and 
prayers,  and  converse  with  them  by  hypnotism  and  spiritual- 
ism.    Protestants  never  do  so. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  then,  as  to  the  transmission  of  the 
ideas,  and,  above  all,  of  the  opinions,  of  hypnotizers.  But  it 
is  very  singular  that  hypnotizers,  who  have  perfectly  recog- 
nized the  influence  which  their  will  exercises  over  these  sub- 

287 


THE    UNKNOWN 

jects  ever  since  the  observation  of  artificial  somnambulism 
began,  should  have  been  so  long  without  discovering  the 
phenomenon  of  the  transmission  of  ideas.  The  ignorance 
which  a  great  many  of  them  still  display  on  this  subject 
is  one  of  the  causes  which  have  thrown  them  into  exaggera- 
tion and  error,  for  while  bestowing  absolute  confidence  on 
their  subjects,  they  interrogate  th  m  in  regard  to  all  the  sys- 
tems which  they  themselves  have  invented,  and  as  the  an- 
swers of  their  subjects  always  agree  with  these  systems,  the 
most  absurd  opinions  become  certainty  for  them,  and  this 
results  in  their  being  further  and  further  removed  from  the 
truth. 

Sympathy  has  been  admitted  by  every  one  at  all  periods. 
Nevertheless,  the  word  is  void  of  meaning  for  those  who  do 
not  believe  in  the  reciprocal  and  mysterious  influence  which 
two  human  beings  can  exert  over  each  other.  There  are  very 
few  persons  who  have  not  had  occasion  to  remark,  in  the 
course  of  their  lives,  on  the  questions  of  sympathy  and  affin- 
ity. Thought  transmission,  harmonious  communication  be- 
tween brains  and  between  souls,  does  exist.  The  psychic 
world  is  as  real  as  the  physical  world,  only  it  has  been  less 
studied  up  to  the  present  time. 

It  may  be  that,  as  regards  manifestations  of  psychic  energy, 
we  are  in  the  condition  of  inferior  animals  who  have  not  yet 
evolved  an  intelligence  like  ours.  But  what  difficulty  is 
there  in  admitting  that  this  force,  like  all  others,  acts  at  a 
distance  ?  The  point  which  would  be  most  curious  and  most 
inadmissible  would  be  that  this  force  if  existent  should  not 
act  at  a  distance ;  for  that  would  be  a  unique  paradox. 

We  have  already  said  a  hundre  :  times  that  it  is  strange 
presumption,  not  to  say  profound  ignorance,  to  suppose  that 
there  exist  around  us  in  actual  movement  only  those  forces 
we  are  capable  of  perceiving.  Our  senses  are  evidently  very 
gross,  if  we  compare  the  sum  of  what  they  transmit  to  us 
with  the  probable  mass  of  that  which  we  are  incapable  of  re- 
ceiving. We  know  that  there  exist  colors,  sounds,  electric 
currents,  magnetic  attractions,  and  repulsions  whose  exist- 
ence we  wholly  fail  to  perceive  ;  yet  we  are  able  to  record 

288 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

their  action  by  means  of  delicate  apparatus.  Are  we  not 
justified  by  actual  scientific  data  in  considering  all  bodies 
which  surround  us  as  being  in  infinite  and  established  rela- 
tions with  one  another,  in  accordance  with  all  forms  of  en- 
ergy ?  And  should  we  not  regard  ourselves  as  caught  in  an 
inextricable  net,  and  pressed  upon  by  all  these  reciprocal  ac- 
tions, calorific,  electric,  and  attractive,  to  say  nothing  of 
other  influences  derived  from  forces  which  we  do  not  un- 
derstand— dynamic  actions,  of  which  the  grossest  manifesta- 
tions only  are  apparent  to  us. 

But  we  may  say,  with  M.  Hericourt,  that  the  evolution  of 
organisms  pursues  its  course,  and  that  there  is  no  doubt  that 
some  beings  already  begin  to  be  impressed  by  certain  vibra- 
tions issuing  from  the  midst  of  these  whirlwinds  of  action 
and  of  reaction,  to  which  we  are  insensible. 

Again,  this  author  says  that  the  surprising  phenomena  of 
action  at  a  distance,  observed  in  hypnotized  persons — that  is 
to  say,  in  persons  who  have  undergone  a  sort  of  experimental 
disturbance  of  equilibrium,  in  which  certain  parts  of  the  ner- 
vous system  appear  to  have  their  sensibility  increased  at  the 
expense  of  other  parts — ought  to  guide  us  to  an  understand- 
ing of  the  meaning  and  nature  of  the  phenomenon  of  telep- 
athy. It  is  these  phenomena  which  will  no  doubt  act  as  the 
bridge  between  the  science  which  is  positive  to-day  and  that 
which  may  be  the  science  of  to-morrow. 

After  all  that  has  been  said,  it  is  no  longer  possible  to 
doubt  the  fact  of  communication  between  brains  (certainly 
not  in  special  conditions).  Thoughts,  ideas,  images,  impres- 
sions can  be  transmitted.  Brains  are  centres  of  radiation.  It 
is  sometimes  said  that  ''  certain  ideas  are  in  the  air,"  and  the 
metaphor  is  a  reality. 

A  certain  number  of  investigators  have  tried  to  make  exact 
experiments  on  thought  transmission.  Those  of  MM.  Richet, 
Hericourt,  Guthrie,  Lodge,  Schmoll,  Desbeaux,  W.  M.  Pick- 
ering, and  others,  can  be  found  in  their  special  publica- 
tions, which  extend  as  far  back  as  the  years  1883  and  1884. 
These  establish  that  numbers  have  been  guessed  and  designs 
reproduced  sufficiently  often  to  show  the  reality  of  the  trans- 
T  289 


THE    UNKNOWN 

mission.  In  M.  Richet's  articles,  for  instance,  2997  experi- 
ments gave  7S9  successes  and  732  probabilities.  M.  Maiilier 
recorded  the  results  of  17  series  of  experiments,  the  total 
number  being  17,653  ;  in  these  the  successes  were  4760,  and 
these  exceeded  the  number  of  probabilities  by  347.  In  June, 
1886,  Miles  Wingfield  obtained  27  complete  successes  out  of 
400  experiments  with  figures,  the  probabilities  being  only  4. 
These  experiments,  although  they  are  not  conclusive,  have 
their  value.  I  know  very  well  that  thought  transmission  is 
played  as  an  amusement  by  prestidigitators  in  salons  and  on 
the  stage,  and  that  there  are  simple  and  ingenious  tricks  for 
this  purpose.  I  have  more  than  once  taken  part  with  pleas- 
ure in  the  seances  of  the  brothers  Isola,  De  Cazeneuve,  and 
their  rivals.  But  we  are  here  concerned  with  scientific  ex- 
periments in  which  the  experimenters  have  no  intention  of 
deceiving. 

I  will  cite  the  following  as  an  example  : 

My  learned  colleague  and  friend,  fimile  Desbeanx,  the  au- 
thor of  works  which  are  both  admired  and  esteemed,  has 
made,  among  others,  the  curious  experiments  which  are 
here  quoted,  the  account  of  which  he  has  himself  transcribed: 

XXXV.  "  On  the  23d  of  May,  1891,  I  caused  Monsieur  a., 
professor  in  the  physical  sciences,  to  be  seated  in  an  obscure 
corner  of  the  salon.  Monsieur  G-.  is  a  man  to  whom  this  kind 
of  experiment  was  absolutely  unknown.  It  was  nine  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  Monsieur  G.  had  his  eyes  bandaged  and  his 
face  turned  towards  the  wall. 

"  I  placed  myself  about  four  yards  from  him,  before  a  lit- 
tle table  on  which  stood  two  lamps. 

"FIRST   EXPERIMENT 

*^' Without  any  noise  and  without  Monsieur  G-.'s  knowledge 
I  took  up  an  object  and  I  held  it  in  the  bright  light.  I  con- 
centrated my  attention  upon  it.  I  willed  that  Monsieur  G. 
should  see  that  object. 

"  At  the  end  of  four  and  a  half  minutes  Monsieur  G.  an- 
nounced that  he  saw  a  metallic  dish. 

^'Now  the  object  was  a  silver  spoon.' -a  little  coffee  spoon, 

290 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

the  handle  of  which  was  concealed  in  my  hand.  I  presented 
only  the  bowl,  the  shape  of  which  was  a  slightly  elongated 
oval. 

"  SECOND   EXPEEIMENT 

^'  Monsieur  G.  saw  a  shining  rectangle. 
**  I  held  up  a  silver  snuff-box, 

''THIRD    EXPERIMENT 

**  Monsieur  G.  saw  a  triangle. 

*'I  had  drawn  a  triangle  in  bold  strokes  on  a  card. 

"FOURTH   EXPERIMENT 

'*'  Monsieur  G.  saw  a  square  with  shiny  corners  and  bright  dots. 
Sometimes  he  saw  two  dots  only,  sometimes  he  saw  several. 

''  I  held  up  an  object  whose  presence  in  my  house  was  very 
little  likely  to  be  suspected.  It  was  a  large  domino  in  white 
card-board.  The  light  shone  brightly  on  its  edges,  and  gave 
to  the  spots  engraved  below  the  brilliant  reflection  of  black 
dots. 

''FIFTH   EXPERIMENT 

"Monsieur  G.  saw  a  transparent  object  with  shining  lines 
forming  an  oval  at  the  bottom. 

"I  held  a  crystal  beer-glass  with  something  engraved  on 
the  bottom,  which  was  oval. 

"These  five  experiments,  made  under  excellent  conditions 
as  regards  control  and  sincerity,  may  be  regarded,  I  think, 
as  successful." 

It  is  also  of  interest  in  this  connection  to  reproduce  some 
of  the  drawings  obtained  by  my  friend,  A.  Schmoll,  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Astronomical  Society  of  France. 

XXXVI.  He  experimented  with  several  persons,  who  in 
their  turn  experimented  upon  others.  The  problem  was  to 
guess  and  to  draw  some  object  which  the  author  of  the  ex- 
periment had  in  his  thoughts,  and  which  he  himself  drew 
out  of  sight  of  the  subject,  who  was  in  the  same  room,  with 
his  back  turned  and  his  eyes  bandaged.  I  give  here  a  sim- 
ple reproduction  of  some  of  these  experiments  which  have 

291 


THE    UNKNOWN 

been  most  successful.  The  minimum  length  of  time  was 
thirteen  minutes.  Out  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  ex- 
periments thirty  failed,  twenty-two  succeeded,  sixty-nine 
gave  results  more  or  less  successful. 

All  these  investigations  show  that  the  mind  can  perceive 
and  comprehend  without  the  aid  of  material  vision. 

This  theory  of  psychic  currents,  which  are  capable  of 
transmitting  cerebral  impressions  and  even  thought  to  other 
brains  at  a  distance,  explains  a  great  number  of  the  facts  ob- 
served which  have  hitherto  been  inexplicable.  For  example, 
you  have  before  you  at  the  theatre,  or  at  a  musical  soiree, 
fifty  to  a  hundred  more  or  less  attentive  women.  Fix  your 
eyes  and  your  thoughts  on  one  of  them,  project  your  will 
with  insistence,  and  not  many  minutes  will  pass  before  she 
will  turn  and  look  at  you.  This  coincidence  is  attributed  to 
chance,  and  very  often  correctly,  but  not  always  ;  the  success 
of  it  depends  on  the  operator  and  on  the  subject.  Other  ex- 
amples which  may  be  cited  are  an  irregular  correspondence 
with  a  sympathetic  person,  when  it  is  not  uncommon  for 
letters  to  cross  each  other,  because  of  mutual  thought  occur- 
ing  at  the  same  time  and  with  the  same  intention.  You  are 
at  table,  you  talk,  you  put  a  question,  you  make  a  reflection: 
"  I  am  going  to  say  thus  and  so,"  and  your  wife,  or  your  hus- 
band, or  your  sister,  or  your  mother,  who  has  had  the  same 
idea  at  the  same  moment,  answers  your  thought.  You  are 
passing  along  the  street,  and  you  say  to  yourself :  "  Sup- 
pose I  should  meet  M.  So-and-So.''^  A  moment  afterwards 
this  very  person  passes  you  ;  you  had  felt  his  approach. 
Again,  you  think  you  recognize  one  person  in  another,  and 
five  minutes  afterwards  you  meet  that  very  person.  You 
speak  of  some  one,  and  he  appears ;  hence  the  proverb  : 
*'  Qtiand  on  j9<xrZe  du  loup."  Numerous  examples  of  this 
kind  have  just  been  given.  Up  to  the  present  time  all  these 
coincidences  have  been  attributed  to  chance,  a  stupid,  vulgar, 
commonplace  explanation,  which  did  away  with  all  reason  for 
investigation. 

Some  cases  of  mind-readi7ig  occur,  which  are  not  due  to 
mental  suggestion.     Attentive  readers  will  have  already  re- 

293 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

marked  several  of  these  in  this  chapter.  Here  is  a  very 
curious  example  of  this  kind,  observed  in  a  child  by  Dr. 
Quintard,  and  communicated  by  that  scientist,  together  with 
guaranties  of  its  authenticity^  to  the  Society  of  Medicine  at 
Angers : 

XXXVII.  ''  Ludovic  X.  is  a  child  of  rather  less  than  seven 
years  of  age,  quick,  bright,  robust,  and  in  excellent  health. 
He  is  absolutely  free  from  any  nervous  defect ;  and  his 
parents  are  equally  free  from  suspicion,  from  a  nenropatho- 
logical  point  of  view.  They  are  people  of  calm  temperament, 
who  know  nothing  of  the  excesses  of  life. 

**  At  the  age  of  five  years,  however,  this  child  appeared  to 
follow  in  the  steps  of  the  celebrated  Inaudi.  His  mother 
wished  at  this  time  to  teach  him  the  multiplication-table, 
and  she  perceived,  not  without  surprise,  that  he  recited  it 
as  well  as  she  did.  Soon  the  little  boy,  getting  excited  by 
the  amusement,  began  to  make  multiplications  with  a  formi- 
dable multiplier,  out  of  his  own  head.  Indeed,  they  had 
only  to  read  him  a  problem,  taken  by  chance  out  of  a  collec- 
tion, and  he  would  give  the  solution  at  once.  For  example, 
this  : 

"  '  If  twenty  -  five  francs  fifty  centimes  were  put  in  my 
pocket,  I  should  have  three  times  what  I  have  now,  less  five 
francs  forty  centimes.     What  is  the  amount  that  I  have  T 

"  Hardly  was  the  statement  finished  than  the  child,  with- 
out even  taking  time  to  reflect,  answered  that  it  would  be 
exactly  fifteen  francs  forty-five  centimes.  They  then  took 
this  other  problem  from  among  the  more  difficult  ones  at  the 
end  of  the  book: 

*^  ^The  diameter  of  the  earth  equals  6366  kilometres  ;  find 
the  distance  of  the  earth  from  the  sun,  knowing  that  it 
equals  24,000  terrestrial  diameters.  Express  this  distance 
in  leagues.' 

'*  The  child  gave  without  hesitation,  in  his  little,  chatter- 
ing voice,  the  required  solution,  38,196,000  leagues. 

''  This  child's  father,  being  otherwise  occupied,  gave  at 

*  Annales  des  sciences  psychiques,  1894,  p.  325. 
293 


THE    UNKNOWN 

first  only  partial  attention  to  his  son's  achievements.  At 
length,  however,  his  interest  became  aroused,  and  as  he  is 
something  of  an  observer,  at  least  by  profession,  he  was  not 
long  in  remarking :  First,  that  the  child  paid  very  little  at- 
tention, and  sometimes  none  at  all,  to  the  reading  of  the 
problem.  Second,  that  his  mother,  whose  presence  was  an 
indispensable  condition  to  the  success  of  the  experiment,  must 
always  have  under  her  eyes  or  in  her  thoughts  the  solution 
asked  for.  From  this  the  father  concluded  that  his  son  did 
not  calculate  at  all,  but  divined,  or,  in  other  words,  he  prac- 
tised the  art  of  thought  reading  on  his  mother,  and  the  father 
resolved  to  certify  himself  in  regard  to  this.  Therefore  he 
begged  Madame  X.  to  open  a  dictionary,  and  ask  her  son 
what  page  she  had  under  her  eyes,  and  the  boy  answered  at 
once,  '  It  is  page  456.'  This  was  correct.  The  experiment 
was  repeated  ten  times,  and  ten  times  they  obtained  a  simi- 
lar result. 

**  The  child,  who  was  a  mathematician,  had  now  become  a 
sorcerer !  But  his  remarkable  faculty  of  double  vision  was 
not  exercised  on  numbers  alone.  If  Madame  X.  marked 
with  her  nail  any  word  whatever  in  a  book,  the  child  when 
questioned  would  name  the  word  underlined.  If  a  phrase 
was  written  in  a  note-book,  however  long  it  might  be,  it  was 
sufficient  for  it  to  have  passed  under  the  maternal  eyes  for  the 
child  to  repeat  the  phrase  word  for  word  when  asked  to  do  so 
even  by  a  stranger  ;  and  he  displayed  no  appearance  of  suspect- 
ing that  he  had  accomplished  a  tour  de  force.  Nor  was  it  even 
necessary  that  the  phrase,  the  number,  or  the  word  should 
be  put  on  paper;  for  the  son  to  succeed  in  his  mind  reading, 
it  was  sufficient  that  anything  should  be  fixed  in  his  mother's 
thought. 

"  But  the  little  boy's  greatest  triumph  was  in  his  displays 
in  society.  He  guessed  all  the  cards  in  a  game,  one  after 
another.  He  designated  without  hesitation  whatever  ob- 
ject was  hidden,  without  his  knowledge,  in  a  drawer.  If  he 
was  asked  what  were  the  contents  of  a  purse,  he  would  give 
them,  even  to  the  dates  on  the  pieces  of  money  contained  in 
it.     But  where  the  child  was  particularly  amusing  was  in  his 

in 


Orig(n«t 


Beprodttction. 


Original. 


'  ReprodactJon. 


ATTEMPTS  AT  REPRODUCTION  OP  DRAWINGS  BY  MENTAL 
TRANSMISSION 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

translation  of  foreign  languages ;  he  gave  every  appearance 
of  understanding  English,  Spanish,  and  Greek  perfectly. 
At  last  a  friend  of  the  family  asked  him  the  meaning  of  the 
Latin  phrase :  ^  Lupus  currehat  sine  pedibus  siuis.'  The  lit- 
tle boy  translated  it  to  the  general  satisfaction.  The  name 
of  little  prodigy  was  in  everybody's  mouth." 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  are  a  great  many  distinctions 
to  be  observed  in  these  investigations.  Mind  reading  in  this 
last  experiment  was  done  without  suggestion.  The  phenom- 
ena of  suggestion  are  produced  by  the  penetration  of  the 
idea  of  the  experimenter  into  the  brain  of  the  subject.  In 
order  to  obtain  suggestion  in  the  case  which  now  occupies 
us,  it  would  be  necessary  to  establish  in  the  mother  a  cer- 
tain psychic  concentration,  a  certain  amount  of  luill-poiver, 
indispensable  to  the  success  of  the  experiment.  The  thought 
reading  in  this  case  was  frequently  accomplished  against  her 
will.  In  short,  there  is  always  another  side  to  the  shield. 
When  this  child  was  old  enough  to  learn  to  read  in  earnest, 
his  mother,  who  had  undertaken  the  task  of  teaching  him, 
observed  with  annoyance  that  her  son  made  no  progress  un- 
der her  tuition.  He  did  not  exercise  either  judgment  or 
memory,  because  he  comprehended  everything.  A  thousand 
ingenious  devices  were  required  to  achieve  the  desired  object. 

While  I  was  studying  these  experiments  on  thought 
transmission  with  the  greatest  care,  I  received  the  following 
letter  from  a  reader  of  the  Annates,  which  proves  to  abso- 
lutely justify  the  preceding  reflections  : 

XXXVIII.  ''Will  you  permit  an  assiduous  reader  to  bring 
to  your  knowledge  an  interesting  fact  in  telepathy  which  I 
have  recently  witnessed. 

''Last  month  (December,  1898)  I  attended  an  aged  lady, 
who  was  in  the  last  stage  of  an  acute  illness.  She  became 
weaker  from  day  to  day,  although  her  mental  faculties  were 
unimpaired,  and  it  was  the  day  before  her  death  that  the  fol- 
lowing phenomenon  occurred. 

"I  had  seen  my  patient  in  the  morning.  She  talked  rea- 
sonably, and  her  mental  faculties  were  not  in  the  least  en- 
feebled. 

295 


THE    UNKNOWN 

''Towards  one  o'clock  that  day  I  met  a  friend  with  whom 
I  spoke  of  different  things.     Suddenly  this  friend  said  to  me : 

*''l  am  looking  for  a  house  to  rent  for  the  spring.  Can  you 
give  me  any  information  on  the  subject  ?' 

"'No,  indeed/  I  answered.  'You  who  are  a  master- 
mason  ought  to  be  better  informed  than  I  in  such  a  matter.' 

"At  this  moment  we  were  entirely  alone,  and  no  one  could 
have  overheard  our  conversation. 

"'The  house  which  Madame  P.  (my  patient)  lives  in,' 
continued  my  friend,  'pleases  me  very  much.  What  do  you 
think  of  her  condition  ?  They  say  it  is  very  bad.  Can  she 
live  long  ?' 

"  'It  is  impossible  to  say,'  I  answered,  evasively.  'In  any 
case,  she  has  a  lease,  which  reverts  to  her  heirs  in  case  of  her 
decease.' 

"  '  At  all  events  I  will  wait  a  few  days  and  then  I  will  see 
the  owner.' 

"Our  conversation  ceased  here.  No  more  was  said  in  re- 
gard to  the  patient  or  to  the  house,  and  I  know  that  my  friend 
did  not  speak  to  any  one  of  his  plans  during  the  course  of  the 
day. 

"  Now,  on  my  evening  visit  to  Madame  P.  the  sick-nurse 
said  to  me  : 

"  '  Doctor,  our  patient  wanders,  or,  at  least,  she  did  wander 
towards  mid-day.  She  asked  me  if  any  one  had  come  to  see 
the  house  with  the  intention  of  renting  it.  'For,'  she  said 
to  me  several  times,  'I  have  a  lease;  what  could  they  want  of 
me?' 

"  '  And  this  was  all  ?' 

'"I  understood  absolutely  nothing  about  it,'  added  the 
nurse. 

"Neither  the  maid  nor  any  one  around  the  sick  woman  had 
any  knowledge  of  my  friend's  plans ;  therefore  the  sick  woman 
herself  could  not  have  known  them,  nor  have  received  any 
intuition  in  regard  to  them  through  the  exterior  world. 

"  I  was  convinced,  and  I  remain  so  still,  that  Madame  P. 
became  aware  by  telepathic  communication  alone  of  our  con- 
versation in  the  morning.     The  time  at  which  she  'wandered' 

296 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

was  the  same  at  which  I  talked  with  my  friend.  It  was  the 
only  'wandering'  which  she  displayed,  and  she  died  on  the 
evening  of  the  next  day,  before  any  one  could  have  had  any 
knowledge  of  my  friend's  plans  for  his  location. 

*'  This  happened  on  the  13th  of  December  last. 

'^  I  noted  the  fact  as  interesting  in  itself.  On  reading,  this 
evening,  your  article  in  the  last  number  of  the  Annales,  I 
thought  that  it  might  interest  you.  For  this  reason  I  have 
taken  the  liberty  to  communicate  it  to  you  at  once. 

''Dr.  Z. 

"  P.S. — It  is  to  you  personally  that  I  send  this  document. 
In  case  you  should  intend  to  publish  it,  I  shall  be  obliged  if 
you  will  withhold  my  name.'' 

Here  is  another  fact  that  has  been  observed,  which  greatly 
resembles  the  preceding : 

XXXIX.  "In  April,  1874,  at  Beaumont- la -Ferri^re 
(Ni^vre),  I  gave  my  attention,  together  with  my  wife,  to  my 
mother,  Madame  Fonpuray,  who  was  seventy-two  years  old. 
My  wife  and  I  passed  every  night  in  my  mother's  cham- 
ber, and  in  the  morning  we  went  into  our  own,  during  the 
time  necessary  for  us  to  make  our  toilettes,  but  we  returned 
as  soon  as  possible  to  my  mother,  who  was  cared  for  in  the 
meantime  by  her  maid. 

"  The  house  in  which  we  lived  was  very  large,  and  the  two 
rooms  of  which  I  speak  were  both  situated  on  the  first  story,' 
but  at  opposite  ends  of  the  house,  and  separated  from  each 
other  hjfour  chamiers  aiid  a  large  hall,  enclosing  the  open- 
ing for  the  staircase. 

"  One  morning  my  mother  was  dying  and  we  did  not  wish 
to  leave  her,  but  she  insisted  that  we  should  go  at  once  into 
our  own  room.  Both  my  wife  and  I  were  very  much  moved, 
and  we  spoke  of  my  mother's  impending  death,  and  of  the 
relatives  whom  we  had  already  lost,  among  the  number  being 
one  of  my  brothers,  a  captain  of  artillery,  who  had  died  two 
years  previously. 

"  I  had  no  material  and  tangible  thing  once  belonging  to 
this  brother.      My  mother   had   collected  different   objects 

297 


THE    UNKNOWN 

belonging  to  him,  his  epaulettes,  his  cross  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor,  his  sabre,  and  so  forth  ;  and  among  other  things  was 
a  whip  belonging  to  the  period  when  he  had  been  at  the  Ecole 
Polytechnique,  or  at  Metz.  It  had  a  large  silver  handle  with 
a  coat-of-arms  in  relief. 

''I  had  for  a  long  time  wished  to  possess  this  whip,  but  I 
had  never  dared  to  ask  it  of  my  mother,  knowing  how  she  clung 
to  the  relics  of  her  dead  son.  I  spoke  of  it  to  my  wife,  who 
dissuaded  me  from  saying  anything  about  it  to  my  mother. 

^^  There  were  no  witnesses  to  this  conversation.  The  door 
of  our  room  was  closed,  and  that  of  my  mother's  room  as  well. 
I  have  mentioned  the  distance  separating  our  cliambers,  and 
I  will  add  that  my  mother  was  dying  in  her  bed,  in  a  dropsi- 
cal condition  and  incapable  of  movement.  Neither  she  nor 
any  one  else  could  have  heard  us,  and  it  was  impossible  that 
any  one  should  have  carried  to  her  the  remarks  that  were 
exchanged  between  my  wife  and  myself. 

'^  We  returned  to  her  room,  and,  opening  the  door,  we 
found  my  mother  in  her  bed  as  we  had  left  her,  almost  in  the 
last  agony.  Before  I  had  had  time  to  ask  her  how  she  was, 
she  said  to  me  in  a  feeble  voice :  *  Louis,  you  wish  for  your 
brother's  whip  ;  I  give  it  to  you.  It  is  put  away  in  the  low- 
est drawer  of  my  bureau.  Take  it;  it  will  be  for  you  a 
double  souvenir  of  your  brother,  who  valued  it  highly,  and 
of  your  mother  who  is  about  to  die.' 

^'  She  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  gave  her  last  sigh. 

*'  This  is  the  occurrence  of  which  I  was,  as  you  will  easily 
believe,  a  deeply  moved  spectator. 

"  I  send  it  you,  affirming  its  absolute  varacity;  make  what 
use  of  it  you  see  fit.  My  wife,  who  was  a  witness  of  the  oc- 
currence, signs  this  letter  with  me,  in  order  to  certify  to  its 
correctness.  Fon"PURAT. 

"  Cha,teau  de  Malpeyre,  near  Brioude  (Haute-Loire). 

*'  I  was  witness  of  everything  that  my  husband  has  related 

to  you  above.  C.  Fois^puray.'* 

Letter  38. 

Mr.  Cromwell  Varley,  the  eminent  electrician  and  inventor 

298 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

of  the  transatlantic  cable  between  England  and  the  United 
States,  relates  the  following  fact,'  bearing  on  mental  com- 
mnnication : 

XL.  "  While  doing  some  work  on  pottery  I  inhaled  the 
vapor  of  hydrofluoric  acid,  which  resulted  in  spasms  of  the 
glottis.  I  was  seriously  affected,  and  it  often  happened  that  I 
was  awakened  by  a  spasmodic  attack.  I  had  been  advised  to 
keep  sulphuric  ether  always  on  hand,  in  order  to  obtain 
prompt  relief  by  inhaling  the  fumes.  I  had  recourse  to  it 
six  or  eight  times;  but  its  odor  was  so  unpleasant  to  me  that 
I  ended  by  making  use  of  chloroform,  which  I  placed  beside 
my  bed,  and  when  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  use  it  I  leaned 
over  in  such  a  position  that  as  soon  as  it  produced  insensi- 
bility I  would  fall  backward  and  let  the  sponge  drop.  One 
night,  however,  I  fell  back  on  my  bed,  still  holding  the  sponge, 
which  remained  applied  to  my  mouth. 

^'  Mrs.  Varley,  who  was  nursing  a  sick  child,  was  in  the 
room  above  mine.  At  the  end  of  some  seconds  I  became  con- 
scious again.  I  saw  my  wife  above,  and  myself  lying  on  my 
back  with  the  sponge  over  my  mouth,  with  an  absolute  in- 
ability to  make  any  movement  whatever.  By  force  of  my  will 
I  conveyed  into  her  mind  the  vivid  idea  that  I  was  in  danger. 
She  rose  under  the  impulse  of  a  sudden  alarm,  came  down, 
and  hastened  to  remove  the  sponge.     I  was  saved." 

I  should  offer  some  excuse  for  having  mutiplied  these 
observations  to  such  an  extent,  were  it  not  that  we  are  con- 
cerned with  a  demonstration  so  novel,  so  much  discussed, 
and  so  important.  They  all  prove,  beyond  the  possibility  of 
doubt,  the  reality  of  the  psychic  action  of  one  mind  upon 
another. 

Sometimes  this  psychic  transmission  goes  so  far  as  to  pro- 
duce material  physical  sensations. 

Here,  for  instance,  is  a  very  curious  ease,  reported  in  the 
work.  Telepathic  Hallucinations  (p.  325),  from  which  we 
have  already  borrowed  so  much.  It  occurred  to  Mrs.  Severn, 
at  Brantwood,  England. 

^  Repoi't  on  Spiritualism,  1870,  translated  into  French  in  1899,  Paris, 
Librarie  Leymaire. 


THE    UNKNOWN 

XLI.  ''I  suddenly  woke  np,"she  writes.  '^1  felt  that  I  had 
received  a  violent  blow  on  the  mouth.  I  had  a  distinct  sensa- 
tion that  I  had  been  struck,  and  that  I  had  bled  from  the 
upper  lip. 

''  Sitting  up  in  bed,  I  seized  my  handkerchief,  I  tore  it  up, 
and  I  pressed  it  like  a  tampon  against  the  injured  place. 
Some  moments  afterwards,  on  removing  it,  I  was  astonished 
not  to  see  any  trace  of  blood.  Only  then  did  I  realize  that  it 
was  absolutely  impossible  that  anything  could  have  struck 
me,  for  I  was  in  my  bed,  and  I  had  been  sleeping  profoundly. 
Then  I  thought  simply  that  I  had  dreamed.  But  I  looked  at 
my  watch,  and,  seeing  that  it  was  seven  o^clock,  and  that 
Arthur  (my  husband)  was  not  in  the  room,  I  concluded  that 
he  had  gone  out  for  an  early  boating-party  on  the  lake,  as  it 
was  fine  weather. 

'^Then  I  went  to  sleep  again.  We  breakfasted  at  half- 
past  nine.  He  came  in  late,  and  I  remarked  that  he  sat 
down  a  little  farther  off  from  me  than  usual,  and  that  from 
time  to  time  he  put  his  handkerchief  to  his  lips. 

"  ^Arthur,'  I  said  to  him,  'why  do  you  do  that?'  And  I 
added,  being  a  little  uneasy :  '  I  know  that  you  are  hurt,  but 
I  will  tell  you  afterwards  how  I  know  it.' 

"  '  Well,'  he  said,  'I  was  in  the  boat  very  early.  A  puff  of 
wind  came  unexpectedly,  and  the  tiller  swung  round  and  hit 
me  on  the  mouth.  I  received  a  violent  blow  on  my  up- 
per lip.  It  bled  a  great  deal,  and  I  could  not  stanch  the 
bleeding.' 

*' '  Have  you  any  idea  what  time  it  was  when  that  hap- 
pened to  you  ?' 

"  'It  must  have  been  about  seven  o'clock,'  he  answered. 

'^  I  told  him  then  what  had  happened  to  me.  He  was 
very  much  surprised  at  it,  as  well  as  all  those  who  were  at 
breakfast  with  us.  This  happened  at  Brantwood,  about  three 
years  ago.  Jane  Severis'." 

In  answer  to  some  questions,  Mrs.  Severn  wrote : 
*'It  is  absolutely  certain  that  I  was  entirely  awake,  since 
I  put  my  handkerchief  to  my  mouth,  and  I  pressed  it  to  my 

300 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

upper  lip  for  some  time  in  order  to  see  whether  it  was  bleed- 
ing. I  was  very  much  astonished  to  find  it  was  not.  Soon 
afterwards  I  went  to  sleep  again.  I  believe  that  when  I  got 
np  an  hour  later  I  still  felt  a  very  vivid  impression,  and 
while  I  was  dressing  I  looked  at  my  lip  to  see  if  it  bore  any 
mark." 
Here  is  Mr.  Severn's'  narrative  as  well : 

"  BrantwoodConiston,  November  15,  1883. 

*'  One  beautiful  summer  morning  I  rose  early,  intending 
to  go  on  a  boating  excursion  on  the  lake.  I  do  not  know 
if  my  wife  heard  me  when  I  left  the  room. 

'"^When  I  went  down  to  the  water  I  found  it  tranquil  as  a 
mirror,  and  I  remember  that  I  felt  a  kind  of  regret  at  troub- 
ling the  charming  mirage  of  the  opposite  shore,  which  was 
reflected  in  the  lake.  Nevertheless,  I  soon  launched  my  boat, 
and  as  there  was  no  wind,  I  contented  myself  with  hoist- 
ing the  sails  in  order  to  dry  them,  and  with  putting  the  boat 
in  order.  A  slight  breeze  soon  sprang  up,  which  enabled 
me  to  go  nearly  a  league  beyond  Brant  wood.  Then  the 
wind  rose.  I  trimmed  my  boat  to  meet  the  squall  as  well  as 
possible,  but  from  some  cause  or  other  the  wind  struck  it 
abaft,  and  I  thought  it  was  going  to  upset  with  me. 

"  In  order  to  avoid  the  yard  I  lowered  my  head  beside  the 
tiller,  but  the  yard  struck  me  on  the  mouth  and  cut  my  lip 
deeply.  In  spite  of  this  I  soon  succeeded  in  getting  the  yard 
into  its  place,  and  as  I  had  a  good  breeze  I  got  back  to 
Brantwood  quickly.  After  having  made  fast  my  boat  at  the 
pier,  I  went  towards  the  house,  endeavoring  to  conceal  what 
had  happened  to  my  mouth  as  much  as  possible.  I  took  a 
fresh  handkerchief.  I  went  into  the  dining-room,  and  I  at- 
tempted to  talk  of  something  else  in  connection  with  my 
morning  outing.     In  a  moment  my  wife  said : 

"  'Have  you  hurt  your  mouth  T 

"  I  explained  then  what  had  happened  to  me,  and  was  very 
much  surprised  at  the  extraordinary  interest  which  her  face 

*  The  well-known  artist. 
^      301 


THE    UNKNOWN 

displayed.  I  was  still  more  astonished  when  she  told  me 
that  she  had  waked  up  suddenly,  thinking  that  she  had  re- 
ceived a  blow  upon  the  mouth.  This  had  happened  to  her 
at  a  few  minutes  after  seven.  It  must  have  been  just  about 
that  time  that  the  accident  really  took  place. 

"Arthur  Severn." 

We  might  continue  to  multiply  these  examples  indefinitely. 
But  it  seems  to  us  that  our  readers  must  be  completely  con- 
vinced of  the  certainty  of  the  transmission  of  thoughts,  of  im- 
pressions, and  of  sensations. 

The  correlation  of  forces  and  their  mutual  transformation 
aid  us  to  understand  cases  of  physical  impression  analogous 
to  the  preceding. 

We  shall  assume,  then,  that  the  action  of  one  mind  upon 
another,  whether  by  thought  transmission  or  mental  sug- 
gestion, has  been  proved,  even  though  the  fact  be  contested 
by  a  large  number  of  scientists,  even  specialists.  Dr.  Bottey, 
for  instance,  affirms  that  "the  pretended  transmission  of 
thought  and  of  double  vision  cannot  possibly  exist,  and  that 
it  is  oxAj  jugglery,  exploited  hy  the  liypnotizers.^' '  It  seems  to 
us  that  the  circulation  of  false  money  does  not  prevent  good 
money  from  existing. 

A  large  number  of  scientists  profess  the  same  disbelief  for 
psychic  transmission,  especially  in  England,  where  Sir  William 
Thompson  (Lord  Kelvin)  and  Tyndall  have  made  themselves 
conspicuous  by  the  profound  contempt  which  they  have 
evinced  for  this  kind  of  investigation. 

The  French  astronomer,  Laplace,  gave  evidence  of  a  very 
superior  mind  when  he  wrote  : ' 

"  The  singular  phenomena  which  arise  from  extreme  ner- 
vous sensibility  in  some  individuals  have  given  rise  to  diverse 
opinions  as  to  the  existence  of  a  new  agent,  which  is  called 
animal  magnetism.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  cause 
of  this  action  is  very  feeble,  and  perhaps  easily  disturbed  by 

^  Le  magnetisme  animal,  1884,  avant-proepos  et  p.  366. 
"■  Esmi  philosophique  sur  le  probabilitii,  1814,  p.  110. 
302 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

a  great  number  of  accidental  circumstances;  also  that  be- 
cause there  are  some  cases  in  which  it  does  not  manifest  itself 
it  should  not  be  concluded  that  it  never  exists.  We  are  still 
so  far  from  understanding  all  the  agents  in  nature,  and  their 
different  modes  of  action,  that  it  would  display  very  little  of 
the  spirit  of  philosophy  to  deny  the  existence  of  phenomena 
only  because  they  are  inexplicable  in  the  actual  conditions  of 
our  knowledge." 

These  are  words  to  be  considered  by  those  who  are  tempted 
to  pronounce  the  word  impossible  in  this  connection ;  and 
others  who  are  chiefly  afraid  of  ridicule,  they  at  least  counsel 
prudence  in  criticism. 

It  is  an  accepted  fact  in  physics  that  ether,  that  impon- 
derable fluid  by  which  all  space  is  supposed  to  be  filled,  ex- 
tends through  all  solid  bodies,  and  that  even  in  the  densest 
minerals  the  atoms  do  not  touch  each  other,  but  float,  so  to 
speak,  in  ether. 

This  fluid  transmits,  across  immensity,  the  undulatory 
movements  produced  in  its  own  bosom  by  the  luminous  vibra- 
tions of  the  stars;  it  transmits  light,  heat,  and  attraction 
from  considerable  distances. 

Is  it  in  any  way  inadmissible  that  this  ether,  which  is 
known  to  penetrate  our  brains  in  vibrations,  should  also 
transmit  currents  from  a  distance  which  enter  our  brains  and 
establish  a  true  exchange  of  sympathies  and  ideas  between 
sentient  beings ;  between  the  inhabitants  of  the  same  world, 
or  even  it  may  be  across  space,  between  earth  and  heaven  ? 

It  is  possible  to  conceive  that,  in  certain  cases,  in  cer- 
tain conditions,  a  vibratory  movement,  a  radiation,  a  current 
of  greater  or  less  intensity,  issues  from  a  spot  in  the  brain, 
and  proceeding  to  strike  another  brain,  communicates  to  it 
a  sudden  stimulus  which  manifests  itself  in  a  sensation  of 
hearing  or  of  vision.  The  nerves  are  set  in  motion,  some- 
times in  one  fashion,  sometimes  in  another.  One  person 
believes  that  he  sees  the  beloved  being  in  whose  brain  the 
disturbance  originated ;  another  believes  that  he  hears  him  ; 
or  again,  the  cerebral  stimulus  manifests  itself  in  the  illu- 
sion of  a  noise,  or  of  a  movement  of  objects.     But  all  these 

303 


THE    UNKNOWN 

impressions  in  the  brain  of  the  subject  pass  like  a  dream. 
In  the  normal  state,  it  must  be  remembered,  we  only  per- 
ceive things  by  some  cerebral  excitement  which  is  obscurely 
accomplished  in  the  interior  of  our  brains. 

Is  the  material  brain  which  is  localized  in  the  skull  an 
organ  from  which  radiations  emanate,  a  focus  which  affects 
the  space  around  it  as  a  clock  does  in  its  vibrations,  or  after 
the  manner  of  a  centre  of  light  or  heat,  and  does  it  emit 
physical  waves  analogous  to  those  of  light  ?  or  is  the  mind  a 
focus  of  another  and  more  ethereal  kind  of  a  psychic  nature 
which  emits  invisible  radiations  of  great  power  and  is  able 
to  transport  them  to  great  distances  ?  The  existence  of  a 
radiation  proceeding  from  sentient  beings  seems  necessary  to 
explain  observed  facts  whether  that  radiation  proceeds  from 
the  mind  or  from  the  brain.  Is  it  accomplised  by  spheric 
waves  ?  Does  it  project  itself  in  rectilinear  streams  ?  Is 
electricity  involved  in  the  action  ?  (It  certainly  exists  in  the 
human  organism.  I  have  had  proofs  of  it  a  hundred  times.) 
We  can  as  yet  only  propose  such  questions.  But  the  actual 
FACT  of  the  action  of  the  soul  at  a  distance  is  now  demon- 
strated, and  I  beg  my  readers  not  to  misrepresent  anything 
that  I  have  turitteyi.  I  have  brought  forward  all  these  ex- 
planatory hypotheses  simply  as  questions.  A  hundred  years 
ago  the  theory  of  emission  was  accepted  and  approved  by 
science ;  to-day  it  has  been  abandoned  for  that  of  undulations 
of  ether.  But  we  have  no  proof  that  the  latter  explains 
everything,  particularly  as  regards  facts  of  a  psychic  kind. 
The  existence  of  a  thing  can  be  admitted  without  a  necessity 
for  its  explanation.  For  example,  you  receive  a  violent  blow; 
you  turn  around,  and  you  see  no  one  ;  none  the  less  have 
you  received  an  inexplicable  blow,  and  you  are  obliged  to  ad- 
mit the  fact.  The  importance,  the  essential  value  of  this  book 
is  to -^YONQthdii  these  facts  exist;  that  side  by  side  with  the  vis- 
ible and  known  world  there  is  an  order  of  things  invisible  and 
unknown,  and  that  this  unknown  is  worthy  of  investigation. 

The  action  of  one  human  being  upon  another,  from  a  dis- 
tance, is  a  scientific  fact;  it  is  as  certain  as  the  existence  of 
Paris,  of  Napoleon,  of  oxygen,  or  of  Sirius. 

304 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

The  researches  undertaken  in  our  work  stop  here,  and  if 
they  only  served  to  establish  the  above  fact,  they  would  be 
of  the  highest  importance,  and  we  should  not  regret  having 
undertaken  them.  But  they  have  led  to  other  discoveries 
not  less  audacious,  not  less  surprising,  and  not  less  certain. 
The  occult  scientists  teach  that  man  is  composed  of  three 
parts  :  the  soul,  the  astral  body,  and  the  physical  body,  and 
explain  certain  manifestations  by  saying  that  the  astral  body 
of  the  dying  person  escapes,  and  is  transported  to  the  person 
receiving  the  impression. 

This  explanation  does  not  seem  to  us  satisfactory,  because 
of  the  diversity  of  the  impressions.  Some  have  been  warned 
of  death  by  the  vision  of  a  cat,  or  a  dog,  or  a  bird  ;  by  the 
fictitious  opening  or  closing  of  a  shutter,  of  a  window,  of  a 
door ;  by  knocks  struck  on  a  bed,  by  steps  heard,  by  appari- 
tions of  beings  always  clothed,  by  demands  for  prayers 
when  the  dead  wished  to  be  delivered  from  purgatory.  These 
are  evidently  personal  impressions,  produced  by  a  telepathic 
cause,  and  not  manifestations  of  an  astral  body  which  had 
transported  itself. 

It  is  sometimes  stated  in  semices,  as  an  axiomatic  principle, 
that  an  hypothesis  should  explain  everything;  but  this  is  an 
error.  An  hypothesis  may  explain  certain  facts  and  not  ex- 
plain others. 

That  is  what  happens  here.  But  we  do  not  the  less  admit 
the  psychic  action  of  one  mind  upon  another  from  a  distance, 
and  without  the  senses  as  an  intermediary,  because  this 
action  does  not  explain  everything. 

It  explains  the  impressions  of  the  brain  and  the  fictitious 
appearances.  It  does  not  explain  the  real  movement  of 
objects. 

A  theory  which  would  account  for  a  great  number  of  the 
impressions  already  related  would  be  as  follows : 

A  dying  person  originates,  either  by  a  direct  effort  of  will 
or  without  it  (this  is  a  question  for  investigation),  a  move- 
ment in  the  ether,  which  proceeding  onward  strikes  a  brain 
in  synchronous  vibration,  and  determines  an  impression  in 
that  part  of  it  where  the  optic  and   auditory  nerves  arise  ; 

305 


THE    UNKNOWN 

this  impression  will  vary  according  to  the  exact  condition  of 
that  particular  region  in  the  percipient. 

For  instance  (letter  610,  p.  151),  a  child  who  had  a  passion 
for  birds  heard  the  cry  of  a  bird  so  plainly  that  it  cansed  him 
to  look  for  a  bird.  The  next  day  information  was  received 
of  the  death  of  a  relative. 

But  we  do  not  pretend  to  discover  all  at  once  under  what 
form  transmission  operates.  The  most  reasonable  hypothesis 
seems  to  be  that  of  spheric  nndulatory  vibrations  of  ether; 
this  does  not  suffice  for  the  explanation  of  all  cases.  In  the 
case  of  hypnotic  mental  transmission  a  form  of  thought  pro- 
jection appears  to  be  involved  which  may  be  compared  to  the 
call  of  a  silent  voice.  It  is  known  that  if  a  call  or  a  cry  be 
directed  in  the  same  way,  distinctly  towards  a  definite  direc- 
tion, the  sound  caused  by  it  is  transmitted  by  spheric  undula- 
tions across  the  atmosphere,  just  as  light  is  across  space.  Is 
it  not  possible  that  there  exists  an  even  more  complete  pro- 
jection of  mind,  a  kind  of  exteriorization  of  force  which, 
escapes  from  the  being  about  to  die,  and  influences  the  friend 
towards  whom  it  is  directed  ?  It  even  seems  that  sometimes 
''the  phantom"  created  in  the  sub-conscious  state  of  the 
subject — the  cause  of  the  effect  transmitted — brings  with  it 
some  material  elements  of  the  organism.'  A  projection  of 
psychic  force  can  transform  itself  into  physical,  electrical, 
and  mechanical  effects.  Modern  investigation  has  established 
with  certainty  the  correlation  of  energy,  and  its  mental  trans- 
formations. Are  not  motion  and  heat  daily  transformed  into 
energy  ?  When  Cremieux  was  shot,  and  made  Clovis  Hugues 
hear  knocks  struck  on  his  table,  it  is  possible  that  there  was 
no  cerebral  influence,  but  a  real  production  of  knocks.  It  is 
not  possible  that  these  results  are  always  imaginary  and  sub- 
jective. The  impressions  produced  upon  animals,  a  piano 
which  plays  all  alone,  a  china  service  thrown  to  the  ground — 
collective  sensations  (see  notes  on  pp.  147  and  180)  indicate 
objective  realities.  It  does  not  seem  to  us,  however,  that  the 
elements  of  this  problem  are   at  present   sufficiently  under- 

*  E  G}'!'!,  L'etre  suhsconsdent,  pp.  88  et  152. 
306 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

stood  to  authorize  a  definite  conclusion  ;  all  the  more  because 
it  seems  probable  that  very  often  the  dying  person  has  not 
thought  at  all  of  the  one  who  has  been  made  telepathically 
aware  of  his  death. 

It  may  be  that  mind,  force,  matter  are  all  different  mani- 
festations of  one  and  the  same  entity,  an  entity  which  our 
senses  do  not  perceive.  Perhaps  there  exists  a  single  princi- 
ple belonging  to  intelligence,  force,  and  matter,  embracing 
all  that  is  actual  and  all  that  is  potential — a  first  cause  and 
a  final  cause,  the  differentiations  of  which  are  only  different 
forms  of  movement.  At  this  point  let  us  remark  in  passing 
that  if  thought  is  not  to  be  scientifically  considered  as  a  sen- 
sation of  matter,  but  as  a  form  of  movement  of  a  universal 
principle,  it  is  no  longer  logical  to  maintain  that  death  of 
the  organism  results  in  destruction  of  the  intelligence. 

Dying  manifestations  do  not,  of  course,  represent  a  gen- 
eral experience,  a  law  of  nature,  a  function  of  life  or  of 
death.  They  appear  exceptionally,  without  known  cause, 
and  without  apparent  reason.  The  proportion  of  them  is 
perhaps  not  more  than  one  in  a  thousand  deaths.  With  this 
proportion  there  would  be  about  fifty  dying  manifestations 
in  Paris  a  year.     Are  there  even  this  number  ? 

Is  not  the  manifestation  of  atmospherical  electricity  by 
strokes  of  lightning  of  more  frequent  occurrence  ? 

These  communications  are  in  no  way  the  result  of  the  in- 
telligence, nor  the  knowledge,  nor  the  moral  worth  of  either 
the  person  who  dies  or  the  person  who  receives  the  manifes- 
tation. Obvious  laws  are  no  more  distinguishable  in  them 
than  they  are  in  the  effects  of  lightning.  A  stroke  of  elec- 
tricity strikes  a  living  being  or  an  inanimate  object  in  con- 
sequence of  a  momentary  connection,  the  causes  of  which  are 
hidden  from  science. 

These  various  psychic  discoveries,  however,  put  us  on  the 
track  of  a  class  of  subjects  which  are  worthy  of  all  our  atten- 
tion. Le  Verrier  often  expressed  to  me  the  opinion  that 
the  most  interesting  and  most  important  things  in  science 
are  the  anomalies,  the  exceptions. 

We  may  say  with  Ch.  du  Prel  that  as  long  as  progress  is 

307 


THE    UNKNOWN 

possible  there  will  be  inexplicable  phenomena,  and  that  the 
more  these  phenomena  appear  to  us  impossible,  the  more  is 
their  nature  adapted  to  carrying  us  forward  in  a  knowledge 
of  the  enigma  of  the  universe. 

We  will  add,  with  the  authors  of  the  Phantasms  of  the 
Living,  that  there  seems  to  be  a  complete  divorce  between 
the  scientific  opinions  of  cultivated  men  and  their  beliefs. 
The  old  religious  orthodoxy  was  too  narrow  to  contain  man's 
science;  the  new  materialistic  orthodoxy  is  too  narrow  to 
contain  his  aspirations  and  his  feelings.  The  time  has  come 
to  raise  ourselves  above  the  materialistic  point  of  view,  and 
to  attain  conceptions  which  will  permit  us  to  regard  these 
subtle  communications  between  mind  and  mind  as  possible; 
even  more,  the  communication  between  visible  things  and 
those  invisible,  which  have  from  all  time  inspired  literature 
and  art : 

Star  to  star  vibrates  light ;  may  soul  to  soul 
Strike  thro'  some  finer  element  of  her  own  ? 

This  question  of  Tennyson's  has  been  unconsciously 
answered  in  all  ages,  by  the  lover,  by  the  poet,  by  all  those 
who  are  enthusiastic  in  a  generous  cause.  To  some  of  us,  as 
to  Goethe,  in  certain  hours  of  passion,  this  subtle  communi- 
cation becomes  apparent  with  luminous  clearness.  With 
others,  as  with  Bacon,  this  conviction  is  slowly  formed  along 
lines  revealed  by  the  daily  study  of  mankind.  But  now,  for 
the  first  time,  we  know  that  these  silent  messages  really  issue 
forth ;  that  these  impressions  spread  out  and  communicate 
themselves. 

We  say  that  this  force  is  of  a  psychic  order,  and  not  physi- 
cal, or  physiological,  or  chemical,  or  mechanical,  because  it 
produces  and  transmits  ideas  and  thoughts,  and  because  it 
manifests  itself  without  the  co-operation  of  our  senses,  soul  to 
soul,  mind  to  mind. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  our  psychic  force  creates  a 
movement  of  the  ether,  which  transmits  itself  afar  like  all 
movements  of  the  ether,  and  becomes  perceptible  to  brains  in 
harmony  with  our  own.     The  transformation  of  a  psychic 

308 


PSYCHIC    ACTION 

action  into  an  ethereal  movement,  and  the  reverse,  may  he 
analogous  to  what  takes  place  on  the  telephone,  where  the 
receptive  plate,  which  is  identical  with  the  plate  at  the  other 
end,  reconstructs  the  sonorous  movement  transmitted,  not 
by  means  of  sound,  but  by  electricity.  But  these  are  only 
comparisons. 

The  action  of  one  mind  upon  another  at  a  distance,  above 
all,  under  circumstances  so  solemn  as  those  of  death,  and  of 
sudden  death  in  particular,  the  transmission  of  thought, 
mental  suggestion,  communication  at  a  distance,  all  these  are 
not  more  extraordinary  than  the  action  of  the  magnet  on 
iron,  the  influence  of  the  moon  on  the  sea,  the  transportation 
of  the  human  voice  by  electricity,  the  revolution  of  the  chemi- 
cal constituents  of  a  star  by  the  analysis  of  its  light,  or,  indeed, 
all  the  wonders  of  contemporary  science.  Only  these  psychic 
transmissions  are  of  a  more  elevated  kind,  and  may  serve  to 
put  us  on  the  track  of  a  knowledge  of  human  nature. 

The  gradual  progress  of  our  inquiry  will  probably  lead  us 
to  the  admission  that  there  are  real,  objective,  substantial 
apparitions,  reproductions  of  the  living,  and  perhaps  even  of 
manifestations  of  the  dead.     But  we  will  not  anticipate. 

What  is  certain  is : 

That  telepathy  CAi^f  and  ought  to  be  hencefoeth 
consideeed  by  sciences  as  an  incontestable  reality. 

Minds  are  able  to  act  upon  each  other  without 

THE    intervention    OF   THE  SENSES. 

Psychic  force  exists.     Its  nature  is  yet  unknown. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  WORLD  OF  DREAMS. — INFINITE  VARIETY  OF  DREAMS. — 
CEREBRAL  PHYSIOLOGY.  —  PSYCHIC  DREAMS  :  MANIFESTA- 
TIONS OF  THE  DYING  EXPERIENCED  DURING  SLEEP.— 
TELEPATHY   IN   DREAMS 

The  psycliic  phenomena  which  we  have  just  discussed  may 
occur  during  sleep  as  well  as  in  the  waking  state.  The 
question  of  sleep  and  of  dreams  has  been  already  studied  it 
is  true,  by  a  number  of  acute  observers/  but  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  these  studies  are  still  very  insufficiently  ex- 
plained. Sleep  is  not  an  exceptional  condition  in  our  lives  ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  is  a  normal  function  of  our  organic  life, 
of  which  it  occupies,  in  general  terms,  a  third  part.  A  man 
or  a  woman  who  has  lived  to  sixty  years  of  age  has  slept 
about  twenty  of  them.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
hours  passed  in  sleep  are  hours  of  repose,  of  repair  of  the 
vital  powers,  of  tranquillity  both  for  the  brain  and  for  the 
limbs  ;  but  they  are  not  dead  hours.  Our  intellectual  facul- 
ties remain  in  activity,  with  this  essential  and  vital  differ- 
ence, that  it  is  our  unco7iscious  self  which  is  now  in  action, 
and  not  the  conscious  reasoning  powers  of  the  waking  state. 

If  any  subject  is  constantly  in  our  thoughts,  that  subject 

*  Specially  to  be  consulted  :  Leubet  et  Gratiolet,  Anatomie  comparee 
du  systeme  nerveux  Paris,  1839-1857;  Baillarger,  Bes  Hallucinations, 
Paris,  1853;  Macario,  Du  Sommeil  des  reves  et  du  Somnambulisme,  Paris, 
1857;  Lelut,  Physiologie  de  la  pensee,  Paris,  1862;  Alfred  Maury,  Le 
Sommeil  et  les  reves,  Paris,  1862  ;  Liebault,  Du  Sommeil  et  des  etats  ana- 
logues, Paris,  1866  ;  Hervey,  Les  Reves  et  les  moyens  de  les  diriger,  Paris, 
1867;  Max  Simon,  Le  Monde  des  reves,  Paris,  1888;  Vaschide,  C.  R, 
Acad,  des  sciences.  1899,  II.,  p.  183;  F.  W.  H.  Myers,  "  De  la  conscience 
sublimiaale,"  Annales  des  science  psychiques,  1899. 

310 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

occurs  frequently  in  our  dreams.  Life  is  reflected  in  dreams. 
Those  persons  whose  ideas  are  strong,  and  whose  thoughts 
are  powerful,  have  intense  dreams  ;  those  who  think  very  lit- 
tle dream  lightly.  There  are  as  many  dreams  as  there  are 
ideas,  and  all  the  attempts  at  classification  of  them  have  been 
vain  and  illusory. 

We  do  not  always  remember  dreams.  In  order  to  seize  a 
dream  as  it  passes,  it  is  necessary  to  be  very  suddenly  awak- 
ened, and  to  retain  a  vivid  impression  of  it,  for  nothing  is 
more  easily  destroyed  than  the  recollection  of  a  dream.  It  is 
generally  the  affair  of  a  second  or  two,  and  unless  it  is  im- 
mediately grasped,  it  vanishes — like  a  dream.  A  large  num- 
ber of  writers  assert  that  dreams  only  occur  in  the  morning, 
just  before  awakening,  or  in  the  evening,  before  going  to 
sleep. 

This  is  an  error.  It  is  only  necessary  to  wake  up — either 
spontaneously  or  in  response  to  something  without — at  any 
hour  of  the  night  to  prove  that  we  are  always  dreaming,  or 
almost  always.  But  we  do  not  always  remember ;  indeed,  we 
do  not  often  remember,  any  more  than  we  remember  three- 
fourths  of  the  thoughts  which  have  crossed  our  brain  during 
the  day. 

In  general,  we  dream  of  things  with  which  we  are  occu- 
pied, or  persons  whom  we  know.  Still,  there  are  curious  ex- 
ceptions to  this,  and  sometimes  thoughts,  which  have  been 
most  intense  during  the  day,  are  not  retained  during  the 
following  sleep.  The  cerebral  cells  concerned  with  them 
have  become  exhausted,  and  are  in  repose ;  and  this  is  often 
very  fortunate.  On  the  other  hand,  time  and  space  are  an- 
nihilated in  dreams.  The  events  of  several  hours,  or  even 
of  several  days,  can  be  unrolled  in  a  second.  You  can  re- 
trace a  great  number  of  years,  and  find  yourself  again  in  your 
infancy,  with  persons  long  since  dead,  without  these  remote 
recollections  appearing  to  be  weakened.  You  meet  persons 
of  another  age,  without  astonishment,  in  dreams.  It  is  also 
possible  to  dream  of  things  which  never  happened,  and,  more- 
over, are  impossible.  Absurd  and  ludicrous  images  of  the 
most  incongruous  and  incoherent  character   are  associated 

311 


THE    UNKNOWN 

together  without  the  slightest  probability  or  the  slightest 
reason. 

Dreams  are  influenced  by  a  thousand  different  causes, 
outside  of  the  mind  itself.  Difficulty  of  digestion,  disturb- 
ance of  respiration,  the  position  of  the  body,  a  rustling  of 
the  sheet  or  of  the  night  -  dress,  a  covering  which  is  too 
heavy,  a  chill,  a  noise,  a  light,  an  odor,  the  touch  of  a 
hand,  hunger,  thirst,  general  repletion,  all  have  an  effect  on 
dreams. 

In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  a  common  hypnotic 
hallucination :  namely,  that  of  falling  down  a  hole,  sliding 
down  a  staircase,  slipping  to  the  bottom  of  a  precipice.  It 
occurs  generally,  just  after  sleep  has  begun,  at  the  moment 
when  the  limbs  become  completely  relaxed,  and,  as  it  seems 
to  me,  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  body  is  entirely  changed. 
It  is,  no  doubt,  this  sudden  displacement  of  our  centre  of 
gravity  which  gives  rise  to  this  kind  of  dream.  When  we 
consider  the  question  of  Time  we  shall  have  occasion  to  return 
to  the  astonishing  rapidity  of  dreams. 

Our  attitudes  in  sleep  tend  to  a  passive  equilibrium.  All 
the  activities  of  the  senses  fade  away  by  degrees,  and  oblivion 
of  the  external  world  arrives  by  insensible  transitions,  as  if  the 
soul  slowly  withdrew  itself  into  its  innermost  recesses.  The 
eyelids  close,  and  the  eye  is  soonest  asleep.  The  sense  of 
touch  loses  its  faculties  of  perception,  and  then  it  also  sleeps. 
The  sense  of  smell  disappears  in  its  turn.  Hearing  is  the  last 
to  disappear,  remaining  like  a  vigilant  sentinel  to  warn  us  in 
case  of  danger,  but  at  length  it  also  fades  away.  Then  sleep 
is  complete,  and  the  world  of  dreams  opens  itself  before  our 
thoughts  with  all  its  infinite  diversity. 

About  my  twentieth  year  (nineteen  to  twenty-three)  I 
amused  myself  by  observing  my  dreams  and  writing  them 
down,  upon  my  awakening,  with  commentaries  which  offered 
some  explanation  of  them.  Since  that  time  I  have  continued 
to  take  notes  on  the  subject,  but  only  rarely.  I  have  just 
looked  over  this  register,  which  is  very  voluminous  ;  it  is  en- 
titled "Ovftjoot,  and  is  written,  for  amusement,  I  suppose, 
sometimes  in  Greek  and  sometimes  in  Latin.     Its  sub-titles 

312 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

were  rvQdt  (reavrov  and  'Efxirepia.  I  have  formed  from  it  some 
conclusions,  which  are  not  without  interest. 

I  will  extract  from  this  unpublished  register  some  dreams 
and  some  reflections  which  seem  to  me  entirely  in  place  here : 

''I  had  left  the  Observatory  in  Paris,  in  consequence  of 
some  difference  of  opinion  with  its  director,  Le  Verrier,  and  I 
was  in  charge  of  the  calculations  relating  to  the  future  posi- 
tions of  the  moon  at  the  Bureau  des  Longitudes.  I  dreamed 
that  I  was  at  the  Palais  Royal,  in  the  Orleans  gallery,  at  the 
publisher  Ledoyen's,  and  that  M.  Le  Verrier  entered  and 
bought  my  first  book.  La  Pluralite  des  Mondes  liabites. 

** Seeing  me  there :  'Is  it  by  him  V  said  he,  looking  at 
me.  '  Yes,  monsieur,^  answered  the  publisher,  '  and  it  is  the 
greatest  success  in  our  business.' 

"  There  were  several  ladies  in  the  shop.  They  all  disap- 
peared as  if  by  magic,  and  I  found  myself  alone  with  Le  Ver- 
rier in  an  immense  hotel  salon. 

''  'Are  you  pleased  with  Mathieu,  Langier,  and  Delannay, 
at  the  Bureau  des  Longitudes?'  he  said  to  me.  'You  would 
do  better  to  return  to  the  Observatory.' 

"  '  I  am  very  well  satisfied,'  I  answered.  '  These  calcula- 
tions are  more  interesting  to  me  than  your  reductions  of 
observations.' 

"  '  There  is  no  future  there !'  continued  he.  '  In  your  place 
I  should  go  into  a  department.' 

"  '  M.  Rouland  has  received  an  application  to  admit  me  to 
that  of  the  Public  Works,  in  the  Statistical  Bureau  of 
France.' 

''' Rouland?     No.     Legoix.' 

•'"You  are  right.  But  I  have  refused.  Astronomy  is 
worth  more  than  anything  else  to  me.' 

"  '  Still,  the  principal  thing  in  life  is  to  have  a  good  place.' 

'' '  We  are  not  put  into  the  world  to  eat,  but  to  nourish  our 
minds  on  the  food  they  prefer.' 

"  'You  are  very  disinterested!     You  will  never  succeed.' 

"  'You  and  I  do  not  interpret  science  in  the  same  way. 
For  me  it  is  not  a  means,  it  is  itself  its  own  proper  end.' 

" '  I  could  confer  upon  you  an  important  post  at  the  Obser- 

313 


THE    UNKNOWN 

vatory,  but  in  order  to  do  that  it  would  be  necessary  that  you 
should  leave  the  Bureau  des  Longitudes,  and  that  I  should 
have  a  guarantee  that  you  would  not  again  leave  the  Ob- 
servatory/ 

'' '  And  why  should  I  leave  a  situation  which  will  realize  a 
part  of  my  hopes  ?' 

^^'What  you  call  philosophical  astronomy  is  a  chimera. 
Astronomy  is  calculation/ 

'^  ^Calculation  is  its  foundation,  nothing  more/ 

"  'We  shall  see/  he  said,  turning  on  his  right  heel  and  going 
towards  a  curtain  which  led,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  into  his  own 
apartment  in  the  hotel,  he  left  me  to  my  own  reflections/ 

'^'I  woke  up;  seven  o'clock  struck/' 

This  dream  is  easily  explained  by  my  preoccupations  at  the 
time.  The  illustrious  astronomer  preserved  in  it  exactly  the 
type  of  character  which  I  knew  in  him. 

The  substitution  of  the  name  of  Eouland,  Minister  of  Pub- 
lic Instruction,  for  that  of  Rouher,  Minister  of  Public  Works, 
must  have  been  caused  by  similarity  in  the  two  names,  and 
by  the  fact  that  I  was  much  more  familiar  with  the  first  name 
than  the  second.  M.  Legoix  was  then  head  of  the  Bureau  of 
Statistics,  and  it  had  indeed  been  a  serious  question  with  me 
whether  I  should  enter  it.  Le  Verrier  manifested  a  profound 
contempt  for  the  Bureau  des  Longitudes  on  all  occasions. 
This  dream,  then,  was  simply  the  reflection,  the  echo  of  real 
thoughts. 

This  first  dream  is  very  reasonable.  We  shall  consider 
others  which  are  much  less  so.  Here  is  one  which  termi- 
nates in  a  very  strange  manner : 

*'  I  met  my  friend,  Dr.  Edouard  Fournie,  who  reproached 
me  with  not  having  been  to  see  him  for  a  long  time, 
and  he  added:  'These  reproaches  are  not  only  on  my  own 
part,  they  also  come  from  Mademoiselle  A.,  who  complains 
of  your  indifference.  You  were  not  present  to  dance  with 
her  at  the  ball  at  Madame  F.'s;  she  was  annoyed  at  this,  be- 
cause she  heard  that  you  had  gone  to  another  soiree,  and 
her  distress,  which  she  could  mention  to  no  one,  brought  on 
the  poor  child  a  brain  fever. 

314 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

*' '  A  young  surgeon  and  medical  student  attended  her  and 
saved  her  life.  He  has  not  only  cured  that  fever,  but  even 
its  cause,  for  as  soon  as  he  saw  she  had  the  f^ve  conjiigale 
(the  bean  found  in  the  Epiphany  cake  which  foretells  matri- 
mony) he  became  passionately  in  love  with  her;  she  respond- 
ed to  his  affection,  and  now  it  is  he  whom  she  loves.  She  is 
entirely  cured.'" 

I  read  in  the  note  attached  to  this  dream :  '^  I  knew  Ma- 
demoiselle A.  I  had  a  lively  admiration  for  her,  and  I  had 
dedicated  my  romance.  Si  he  savais,  to  her ;  but  I  had  not 
believed  that  any  reciprocity  existed  on  her  side.  I  had  met 
at  Dr.  Fournie's  house  a  young  surgeon  from  the  Val-du- 
Grace,  in  a  very  elegant  costume,  who  appeared  to  me  to  be 
paying  attentions  to  the  young  lady.  I  was  annoyed  at  this, 
and  I  withdrew.  The  dream  in  this  case  also  is  only  an  as- 
sociation of  habitual  ideas.  But  the  expression  feve  conju- 
gale  is  curious,  because  it  would  seem  to  be  a  distortion  of 
fievre  cerebrale,  which  is  assonant.  It  is  very  extravagant, 
although  it  resembles  to  some  extent  the  metamorphosis  of 
Rouher  into  Rouland,  in  the  preceding  dream.  One  feels 
that  the  cells  of  the  brain  work  obscurely  in  the  unconscious 
state.  It  may  even  be  that,  in  reviewing  the  situation  of  the 
dream,  it  is  possible  to  trace  another  association  of  images 
which  may  have  given  rise  to  this  singular  expression  by 
rapid  unconscious  cerebration.  .  .   ." 

''In  another  dream  I  found  myself  in  the  rear  ranks  of  an 
army  in  battle.  Bullets  whizzed  around  me,  enormous  can- 
non-balls succeeded  them,  but  there  was  no  sound.  I  looked 
at  the  cannon-balls  approaching,  and  turned  sometimes  to 
the  left,  sometimes  to  the  right,  according  to  their  direction; 
Jbut  they  succeeded  each  other  so  rapidly  and  at  such  short 
intervals  that  I  concluded  the  best  thing  to  be  done  was  not 
to  disturb  myself,  for  in  avoiding  one  I  put  myself  within 
range  of  another. 

"  I  said  to  myself  then :  '  What  fools  men  are  to  amuse 
themselves  like  this  !     Have  they  nothing  better  to  do  ?' " 

The  explanation  of  this  dream  also  is  very  simple.  I  had 
drawn  an  unlucky  number  in  the  conscription  a  fortnight 


THE    UNKNOWN 

previously.  What  is  perhaps  most  noticeable  about  it  was 
the  inoffensive  and  noiseless  cannon-balls  which  could  be 
seen  approaching. 

Another  dream  : 

'*  I  was  in  a  public  place,  together  with  several  persons. 
In  the  air,  above  our  heads,  was  an  immense  balloon,  which 
seemed  to  struggle  desperately  against  the  wind.  All  at 
once  it  overturned  completely,  the  car  being  uppermost.  A 
crowd  gathered,  expecting  to  see  the  aeronaut  fall.  But  a 
parachute  was  suddenly  projected  into  space,  and  the  aero- 
naut descended  safely." 

This  dream  is  ridiculous.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  that  a 
balloon  could  be  overturned  in  this  way.  Irrational  things 
which  could  not  possibly  occur  are  common  in  dreams.  Sev- 
eral weeks  previously  M.  de  la  Landelle  had  announced  the 
ascent  of  a  monster  balloon. 

*^I  dreamed  that  several  women  accosted  me  in  the  street. 
The  last  of  them  being  remarkably  pretty  and  youthful,  I 
turned  round  to  look  at  her.  But  then  I  heard  some  one 
say :  '  Here  comes  the  president !  Here  comes  the  presi- 
dent !'    I  was  ashamed  and  I  went  on  my  way." 

I  was  then  president  of  a  little  society  of  young  people  who 
consecrated  their  leisure  to  literature.  I  had  acted  in  the 
dream  as  I  should  have  acted  if  I  had  been  awake. 

"  To-day,  October  5, 1863,  Mademoiselle  K.  D.  told  me  that 
she  dreamed  of  seeing  me  in  the  heavens,  on  the  other  side 
of  the  moon,  with  a  golden  compass  in  my  hand,  engaged  in 
measuring  unknown  space.  All  at  once  I  descended  rapidly 
towards  her,  to  tell  her  that  there  was  a  new  planet  there 
which  was  not  yet  known. 

^'  To-day  I  have  received  number  1439  of  the  Astronomische 
Nachrichten,  which  informs  me  that  a  new  planet  has  just 
been  discovered.  It  is  not  yet  known  in  France,  and  I  shall 
announce  it  to-morrow  in  the  Cosmos.^' 

This  is  no  doubt  a  mere  coincidence.  About  the  same 
date  I  read  in  my  register  the  following  note : 

^*Dr.  Hoefer,  director  of  the  Biographie  Generale,  pub- 
lished by  Didot,  told  me  to-day  that  dreams  represent  opera- 

316 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

tions  of  the  mind  which  are  complex  and  difficult  to  deter- 
mine. In  the  article  on  Humboldt,  he  had  said  that  Germany 
had  two  great  men  to  be  proud  of — Frederic  the  Great  and 
Alexander  von  Humboldt — widely  as  their  genius  differed. 
The  latter,  to  whom  Dr.  Hoefer  had  sent  a  proof,  had  written 
to  entreat  him,  in  the  most  earnest  terms,  to  withdraw  this 
comparison,  considering  himself  too  small  a  man  to  be  called 
a  genius  in  the  same  country  as  Leibnitz,  and  too  much 
devoted  to  the  principles  of  liberty  to  be  put  in  comparison 
with  Frederic  the  Great. 

'^  Dr.  Hoefer  had  delayed  his  answer  to  this  letter  from  day 
to-day,  when  he  heard  of  the  death  of  this  illustrious  scientist, 

^' About  two  months  afterwards  he  dreamed  that  he  found 
himself  in  an  immense  and  splendid  salon,  brilliantly  deco- 
rated, in  which  an  attentive  audience  listened  to  an  orator. 
This  orator  was  himself.  But  as  he  walked  about  on  the 
platform  he  recognized  his  friend  Humboldt.  'Wliatf  he 
cried,  suddenly,  interrupting  himself  in  his  discourse,  '  What, 
is  it  you?    They  told  me  you  were  dead.' 

*'  *No,  my  dear  friend,'  answered  Humboldt,  "^that  was  a 
joke.  I  circulated  the  report  that  I  was  dead,  but  you  see 
very  well  that  it  is  not  so.'  " 

This  dream  was  again  the  result  of  habitual  preoccupations, 
and  the  dead  Humboldt  certainly  did  not  appear  in  it  by 
chance. 

"In  a  dream  I  was  present  at  a  spiritualistic  seance,  in 
which  M.  Mathieu,  dean  of  the  Bureau  des  Longitudes  and 
of  the  Academic  des  Sciences  (brother-in-law  of  Arago)  was 
the  medium.  The  head  of  my  father  appeared  to  me,  looking 
very  beautiful,  as  though  it  were  made  of  ivory  or  wax.  I 
was  not  at  all  impressed  with  this  representation  ;  the  less  so 
because  my  father,  who  was  very  much  alive  in  this  dream, 
as  he  was  in  reality,  took  part  in  the  exhibition  and  did  not 
wish  to  believe  in  it." 

This  must  be  classed  among  astounding  absurdities. 

"I  set  out  from  the  observatory,  at  the  Bureau  des  Oalculs 
of  the  Bureau  des  Longitudes  (this  is  a  mistake ;  it  was  then 
on  the  Rue  Notre-Dame-des-Champs).     I  had  gone  there  to 

317 


THE    UNKNOWN 

give  a  toast  '  to  the  downfall  of  M.  Le  Verrier.'  I  crossed  a 
court  of  mediaeval  Gothic  architecture,  which  does  not  exist, 
and  went  to  Moutrouge,  at  which  place  are  the  ramparts  of 
the  town  of  Laugres,  with  their  extensive  view  over  the 
country/' 

This  is  an  association  of  ideas  and  of  contradictory  images. 
''  In  a  dream  I  saw  men  flying,  who  passed  over  the  Rue  de 
Eivoli.     Among  them  was  my  uncle  Charles,  who  had  just 
come  from  America  in  their  company." 

I  was  then  preparing  (1864)  my  second  work,  Les  Mondes 
Imaginaires,  where  the  question  of  flying  men  is  discussed; 
and  in  spiritualistic  seances  communications  had  been  signed 
by  this  uncle  Charles  (who  was  not  dead  at  all). 

"After  the  hal  de  V Opera.  The  orchestra  continues  to 
play,  the  dances  have  not  ceased,  the  circumstances  and  the 
complications  proceed  as  usual." 

Sensations  of  the  previous  day  continued. 
"  A  magnificent  day  spent  at  Athens.  I  made  a  slow  jour- 
ney, and  I  arrived  there  before  sunrise.  I  was  on  the  Acrop- 
olis, in  sight  of  a  magnificent  panorama.  I  wandered  among 
the  tombs,  the  monuments  of  white  marble,  and  the  reclining 
statues." 

Pure  imagination. 

"M.  le  Verrier  often  appeared  in  my  dreams.  He  occupied 
my  thought  decidedly  more  by  night  than  he  did  by  day. 
This  night,  in  particular,  I  was  in  the  little  house  belonging 
to  the  guardian  of  the  Observatory.  It  was  late.  Madame 
le  Verrier  came  to  find  me,  and  talked  to  me  with  all  the 
amiability  in  the  world.  We  walked  in  the  gardens.  She  as- 
sured me  that  her  husband  would  be  very  glad  to  see  me 
again;  that  I  should  have  an  instrument  for  my  own  use 
whenever  I  wished,  and  that  I  should  be  entirely  indepen- 
dent; all  of  which  things  were  not  only  unlikely  but  im- 
possible." 

This  is  copied  from  the  text.  It  is  exactly  what  did  hap- 
pen ten  years  later :  M.  Verrier  then  placed  the  grand 
equatorial  at  my  disposition  for  my  measurements  of  double 

stars. 

B18 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

Here  is  a  portion  of  a  letter  which  I  have  hesitated  to 
print  (although  dreams  are  assuredly  not  real). 

I  had  a  comrade  named  Sazin. 

*^  I  returned  from  your  house  yesterday  evening/'  he  wrote^, 
"  with  Laurent,  Deflandre,  and  Gonet,  and  I  met  with  noth- 
ing on  the  way  which  could  have  given  rise  to  the  dream 
which  I  had  that  night.  Towards  half-past  one  I  went  to 
sleep.  I  dreamed  that  I  found  myself  with  you  on  the  boule- 
vard. A  woman  of  the  town,  whom  I  knew,  passed  by  me, 
and  was  accosted  by  a  man  who  went  away  with  her.  I  fol- 
lowed them  (in  my  dream),  and  remained  an  invisible  spec- 
tator. The  man  was  tall  and  fair,  with  the  air  of  an  English- 
man. I  did  not  know  him.  What  was  my  surprise  when, 
the  next  morning,  as  I  passed  along  the  street,  I  saw  the 
same  woman  and  the  same  man  come  out  of  No.  68  Rue  de 
la  Victoire." 

This  case  is  interesting  without  being  conclusive.  It  is  not 
impossible  that  the  writer  may  have  met  this  fair  gentleman 
in  his  part  of  the  town,  without  noting  it ;  he  might  have 
done  so  this  very  evening,  not  far  from  the  woman  ;  and 
they  were  then  associated  in  the  dream.  Even  as  a  coinci- 
dence it  is  not  the  less  curious. 

''  I  met  in  the  gardens  of  the  Luxembourg  M.  Desains,  who 
was  a  member  of  the  Institute,  a  professor  at  the  Sorbonne, 
and  physicist  to  the  Observatory.  This  was  an  event  of  fre- 
quent occurrence.  He  told  me  to  write  a  book  on  Us  hommes 
des  planetes,  which  should  be  a  restoration  of  Wolff's  theory, 
according  to  which  the  stature  of  human  beings  is  in  pro- 
portion to  the  dimensions  of  their  eyes,  while  the  eyes  them- 
selves are  in  proportion  to  the  dilatation  of  the  retina,  the 
latter  being  inversely  proportional  to  the  intensity  of  the 
light.  Hence,  in  our  solar  system  the  inhabitants  of  Mercury 
would  be  the  smallest  and  those  of  Neptune  the  most  gigantic. 

'^  'It  is  only  for  your  own  sake  that  I  make  the  sugges- 
tion,' he  said.     'You  must  do  what  you  choose  about  it.'" 

The  explanation  of  this  dream  is  equally  divided  between 
my  researches  in  astronomy  and  in  physiology,  both  of  which 
belonged  to  this  period. 

319 


THE    UNKNOWN 

If  I  record  a  number  of  these  dreams  it  is  because  the  in- 
vestigation is  far  from  irrelevant  to  psychology  in  general, 
and  to  the  problems  with  which  we  are  now  engaged.  It 
may  be  that  our  conclusions  will  be  very  applicable  when 
we  consider  spiritualism. 

"I  dreamed  of  being  on  a  high  mountain.  A  flight  of 
crows  passed  by  me  croaking.  They  divested  themselves  of 
their  outside  covering,  just  as  snakes  do  with  their  skins, 
and  butterflies  free  themselves  from  their  chrysalis.  When 
these  vestures  fell  around  me,  I  saw,  to  my  astonishment,  that 
they  did  not  resemble  crows,  but  the  dried-up  heads  of 
ourang-outangs.  The  astronomer  Babinet,  who  was  there, 
filled  his  pockets  with  them." 

Explanation  :  The  day  before  I  had  specially  noticed  the 
constellation  of  the  crow  in  Flamstead's  celestial  atlas.  The 
scientist  Babinet  was  not  good-looking,  and  his  face,  like  that  of 
Littre,  made  one  think  of  the  simian  origin  of  the  human  race. 

'^  When  I  woke  this  morning  I  heard  a  name  pronounced. 
^Mademoiselle  d'Arquier.'  Now  yesterday  I  had  written 
in  the  Cosmos  that  perforated  nebulosity  had  been  discov- 
ered by  Arquier  in  1779." 

I  also  find  in  the  same  note-book  the  following  notes  : 

"  Almost  all  my  dreams  at  the  present  time  have  for  their 
object  the  most  beautiful  young  woman  I  have  ever  met  in 
society,  Madame  S.  M. 

"  Any  one  who  knows  the  nature  of  a  man's  dreams  will 
know  his  feelings. 

"Although  it  often  happens  that  the  dominant  thoughts  of 
the  evening  before  are  largely  concerned  in  dreams,  they  do 
not  fill  the  mind  so  completely  as  they  do  during  the  day. 
Other  unexpected  impressions  mingle  with  them,  and  our 
dreams  are  even  sometimes  in  opposition  to  our  real  feelings. 
There  are  true  dreams  and  false  dreams,  and  if  we  formed  our 
judgment  upon  certain  dreams  we  should  run  the  risk  of 
judging  incorrectly. 

"  M.  Dichie,  the  editor,  informs  me  that  he  preserves  con- 
sciousness in  his  dreams,  and  knows  perfectly  that  what  is 
happening  is  not  real. 

320 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

"  '  A  long  time  ago/  he  told  me,  ^  I  dreamed  that  I  was  in 
a  salon  by  the  side  of  an  elegant  and  very  attractive  woman. 
I  took  her  in  my  arms,  I  embraced  her,  and  she  allowed  me  to 
do  so,  in  spite  of  the  number  of  people  who  were  looking  on.  I 
said  to  myself,  '^This  is  of  no  consequence,  because  I  am 
dreaming."  And,  as  a  result,  I  acted  towards  all  these  non- 
existent glances  as  if  I  had  been  alone.' 

'^  Once,  in  a  dream,  he  was  pursued  by  a  ruffian,  and,  being 
on  the  point  of  seizure,  he  said  to  himself,  '  In  order  to  es- 
cape him  I  have  only  to  finish  this  dream  by  waking  up.' 
And  he  did  wake  up." 

Another  extract  from  the  same  note-book. 

''I  went  to  the  chateau  de  Oompieane,  where  M.  Filon,  the 
preceptor  of  the  prince  imperial,  conversed  with  me  about 
Home,  whom  at  that  time  I  did  not  know.  I  dined  and 
slept  at  the  college.  The  principal,  M.  Paradis,  informed 
me  of  a  dream  which  deserves  to  be  written  down.  He  was 
sleeping  profoundly,  and  dreamed  that  an  immense  and  hide- 
ous spider  seized  him  and  sat  on  his  chest.  His  horror  was 
such  that  he  woke  up  with  a  violent  start.  His  wife  ob- 
served this  and  asked  him  the  cause  of  his  sudden  awaken- 
ing, upon  which  he  related  to  her  the  nature  of  his  night- 
mare. Madame  Paradis  spread  out  her  hand  on  the  cover- 
lid and  found  there  a  large  spider." 

Probably  the  dreamer  received,  while  asleep,  the  impression 
of  the  movement  of  the  detestable  creature  over  his  hand  or 
his  neck,  and  this  impression  determined  the  dream. 

'*  I  had  a  dream  in  which  I  bled  from  the  nose,  a  thing 
which  never,  or  almost  never,  happens  to  me.  This  morning, 
when  I  waked  up,  I  perceived  that  there  was  a  little  blood  in 
my  nostrils." 

This  also  is  an  impression  caused  by  a  physical  sensa- 
tion. 

'*  I  was  in  a  cavern  in  a  volcano  at  Paris,  or  in  the  envi- 
rons. I  do  not  know  what  happened  to  me  in  connection 
with  a  passer-by,  but  I  spoke  to  him  with  haughtiness,  keep- 
ing my  hat  on  my  head,  and  I  requested  him  to  go  on  his 
way  without  saying  a  word  to  me.  All  at  once,  at  the  bot- 
X  321  __ 


THE    UNKNOWN 

torn  of  the  cave,  a  soft  and  dazzling  light  illnmined  the 
bowels  of  the  volcano,  and  I  saw  open  before  me  magnificent 
mines  of  crystal,  which  developed  into  brilliant  stalactites. 
The  earth  did  not  tremble.  Shades,  covered  with  monks^ 
hoods,  came  out  of  the  opening  in  the  earth,  dressed  in  robes 
of  serge.  A  slight  movement  of  terror  escaped  me,  but  I  was 
soon  able  to  collect  myself,  and  to  await  the  approach  of  one 
of  these  spectres  with  calmness.  I  alone  was  present  out  of 
the  living  world,  and  I  was  not  afraid,  for  I  was  at  this  mo- 
ment dominated  by  an  ardent  desire  to  question  one  of  these 
shades  as  to  the  other  world,  so  that  I  might  at  last  possess 
the  certainty  I  longed  for.  As  soon  as  one  of  these  dead  ap- 
proached sufficiently  near  me,  I  advanced  towards  him  and 
inquired  with  entreaties  whether  he  had  really  returned 
from  the  abode  of  the  dead,  whether  all  men  lived  again 
there,  and  if  there  existed  a  positive  and  definite  world  for 
the  dead  as  for  the  living.  He  was  about  to  answer  me  when 
the  scene  changed,  and  instead  of  the  irregular  columns  of 
natural  crystal  which  had  been  visible  in  the  depths,  un- 
known substances,  limpid,  transparent,  and  decorated  with 
rich  vapors,  moved  upward  from  below,  and  then  downward. 
It  was  a  splendid  effect.  A  beautiful  light  illumined  these 
different  colors.  The  shades  continued  their  tranquil  move- 
ments. The  earth  did  not  tremble,  and  the  majesty  of  the 
spectacle  was  in  no  way  disturbed  by  the  terrible.  Still,  the 
idea  that  the  end  of  the  world  was  at  hand  took  possession  of 
me,  I  felt  my  words  die  on  my  lips,  and  soon  I  lost  the  desire 
to  put  the  questions  I  have  alluded  to,  for  I  thought  each  in- 
stant that  I  should  pass  without  effort  from  the  living  state 
in  which  I  was  to  the  state  beyond  the  grave,  where  were 
those  who  surrounded  me.''^ 

A  note  appended  to  this  dream  seems  to  explain  it : 
"I  have  thought  a  great  deal  lately  in  regard  to  a  future 
state,  and  upon  the  possibility  of  creations  different  from 
that  in  the  midst  of  which  we  live.'' 

''  I  thought  I  was  at  the  academic  publisher's,  Didier's, 
where  I  published  my  first  works.  La  pluralite  des  mondes 
habites^  Les  mondes  imaginaires,  Dieu  dans  la  NaUire,  etc. 

323 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

I  found  there  MM.  Cousin,  Guizot,  de  Barante,  de  Mont- 
alembert,  Lamartine,  Manury,  Mignet,  Thiers,  Caro — all 
of  whom  I  have  really  met  there  occasionally.  MM.  Jean 
Reynaud,  Henri  Martin,  and  Charton,  whom  I  knew  more 
intimately,  had  stopped  me  for  a  moment  at  the  door,  on 
the  quay,  and  begged  me  not  to  remain  long,  because  there 
was  a  reunion  near  by  at  the  Magasin  pittoresque.  M. 
Didier  said  to  me  a  moment  after  my  arrival :  '  Come  with 
me  to  the  Tuileries,  the  band  of  the  Guards  is  playing/ 
We  left  every  one  in  the  shop,  and  we  set  out.  *  Have  you 
no  longer  your  employe  Maindrow  T  I  inquired  of  him  on  the 
way.  '  No.^  *  Shall  you  not  replace  him  T  ^  If  I  were  sure 
of  a  good  substitute,  an  industrious  and  intelligent  boy.^  '  I 
have  one  to  suggest  to  you.'  '  Really  T  ^  Yes  ;  my  brother. 
He  is  very  young;  he  is  four  years  younger  than  I  am,  he 
loves  business,  and  I  am  very  sure  that  he  would  be  satisfac- 
tory in  the  shop.'     'Well,  let  us  have  him  then.' 

"  We  reached  the  Tuileries,  the  chairs  were  all  filled,  and 
we  tried  to  edge  ourselves  in.  The  Emperor,  who  was  seated 
on  a  chair,  rose  and  offered  it  to  M.  Didier,  saying  to  him : 
'  What  has  happened  to  Maury,  that  one  no  longer  sees  him  ?' 
*  Sire,'  answered  the  publisher,  '  they  are  all  at  this  moment 
in  my  shop,  preparing  a  coup  cVetat.'  At  this  moment  the 
scene  changed  before  my  eyes,  and  gave  place  to  a  valley  in 
the  Haute-Marne,  opposite  Bourmont,  and  I  saw  a  stream 
on  its  border  where  I  used  to  play  with  my  brother  when  I 
was  a  little  fellow." 

This  dream  can  be  explained  by  a  very  simple  association 
of  ideas.  I  had  really  placed  my  brother  as  an  employe  in 
Didier's  publishing  house.  Some  days  before  the  dream  I 
had  dined  and  slept  at  the  house  of  the  historian  Henri  Mar- 
tin, where  there  had  been  some  discussion  of  the  coiij)  cVetat, 
and  the  remembrance  of  the  authors  whom  I  had  met  more 
than  once  on  the  quai  des  Augustins  had  aroused  all  these 
reminiscences.  M.  Maury  was  librarian  to  the  Emperor,  and 
often  breakfasted  with  him.  The  idea  of  all  these  authors 
being  in  the  publishing  house  on  the  same  day  and  at  the 
same  hour  is,  of  course,  wholly  improbable  ;  the  id.ea  of  the 

323 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Emperor  being  seated  on  a  chair  at  the  music  at  the  Tuiler- 
ies  is  absurd.     But  in  dreams  everything  appears  natural. 

''M.  Didier  was  not  dead,  and  entering  the  shop  during 
the  day,  I  saw  him,  as  usual,  and  we  shook  hands  without  ap- 
parently feeling  any  astonishment.  I  then  dreamed  that 
they  had  buried  him  in  a  lethargy  three  days  previously 
(December  5,  1865),  and  that  he  had  awakened  in  the  tomb. 
But  I  did  not  think  proper  to  ask  him  for  an  explanation  of 
this  occurrence,  and  we  spoke  of  the  affairs  of  the  business 
house. 

'^  After  some  conversation  we  went  out  together,  as  we  were 
in  the  habit  of  doing,  and  we  walked  along  the  quays  towards 
the  Tuileries.  M.  Didier's  person,  although  in  no  way  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  I  had  known,  was  strange  and  rev- 
erend. He  was,  nevertheless,  very  brisk,  and  I  said  to  him 
that  he  had  the  appearance  of  one  raised  from  the  dead.  *I 
may  very  well  have  the  appearance  of  it,'  he  answered,  ^  since 
I  am  so.'  He  wished  eagerly  to  take  me  by  the  hand,  but  an 
unconquerable  horror  withheld  me. 

" '  Excuse  me  for  refusing  you,'  I  said,  '  but  for  some 
reason  that  I  do  not  understand  I  cannot  do  as  you  wish.' 

'^  This  answer  caused  him  to  be  annoyed  with  me.  I  made 
a  great  effort  and  I  took  his  arm  in  mine ;  but  soon  I  began 
to  tremble  and  was  forced  to  draw  back.  'Let  us  converse 
side  by  side,'  I  said  to  him. 

'^  He  seemed  to  me  a  dead  man  walking,  and  I  saw  by  his 
answers  that  he  no  longer  possessed  his  intelligence  nor  his 
judgment,  and  that  he  spoke  like  an  automaton.  When  by 
accident  my  face  approached  his  lips  I  perceived  an  evil 
odor,  which  completed  my  horror.  I  do  not  know  what  al- 
tercation then  took  place  between  us,  but  I  disputed  with 
this  dead  man,  and  finally  he  gave  me  a  blow. 

'^  At  the  same  moment  a  troop  oi  gendarmes  and  of  sergeants 
de  ville  came  up,  and,  instead  of  being  at  the  Institute,  be- 
fore which  we  were,  we  found  ourselves  on  the  sIojdc  of  a  hill. 
I  then  looked  at  my  companion  fixedly.  *^Do  you  not 
know,'  I  said  to  him,  '  that  I  am  Camille  Flammarion,  your 
favorite  author  ?' 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

"  He  seemed  to  remember.  '  Yes/  said  he — '  a  great  au- 
thor. But  why  won't  you  have  anything  to  do  with  me, 
Sylvie  ?    You  have  a  horror  of  me,  Sylvie."* 

"  ^I  am  not  Sylvie/  I  said,  'but  Camille.' 

^'  He  took  me  by  the  hand,  and  the  contact  was  so  horri- 
ble that  I  awoke." 

This  nightmare  may  have  been  caused  by  the  death  of  this 
friend,  which  happened  three  days  previously.  He  died  sud- 
denly, while  sitting  at  the  omnibus  office  in  the  Place  Saint- 
Michel,  and  when  I  saw  him  next  day  upon  his  bed  I  asked 
myself  whether  he  was  not  in  a  lethargy.  This  death  made 
a  profound  impression  upon  me,  and  when  I  was  asked  to 
pronounce  an  address  at  his  grave,  I  had  not  been  able,  in 
doing  so,  to  control  my  emotion.  The  aggressive  form  of  this 
nightmare  is  inexplicable.  The  substitution  at  the  end  is 
very  singular.  Still  there  are  dreams  even  more  incoherent. 
Thus  in  another  dream  the  sea  was  at  Montmartre,  and  a 
steamboat  brought  me  to  the  Haute-Marne  on  the  sea-shore. 

Here  is  a  more  recent  dream,  which  shows  with  certainty 
the  action  of  a  cause  to  which  the  brain  is  a  stranger  superim- 
posing itself  upon  a  dream  and  determining  a  new  mirage : 

"  This  morning  (June  6,  1897)  I  saw  some  one  in  a  dream 
knocking  loudly  with  his  heel  on  the  step  of  a  wooden  stair- 
case. The  noise  woke  me.  It  proved  to  be  a  round  of 
artillery,  by  which  the  announcement  was  made  at  six  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  one  of  the  annual  fetes  at  Juvisy,  on  Whit 
Sunday.  This  blow  was  struck  less  than  two  hundred  yards 
from  the  observatory  at  the  top  of  the  Rue  Camille  Flam- 
marion.     It  was  followed  at  once  by  two  others. 

''^Thus  the  noise  which  woke  me  had  been  the  determining 
cause  of  an  image  which  had  appeared  to  me  before  I  was 
awake. 

''That  is  to  say,  this  image  had  produced  itself  during  tlie 
very  short  time  necessary  for  awakening,  perhaps  in  the  tenth 
of  a  second. 

"When  I  saw  the  man  knocking  with  his  foot  on  the  step 
of  the  staircase,  I  was  entirely  without  clothes,  and  I  should 
be  obliged,  I  thought,  in  order  to  leave  the  room  where  I  was 

325 


THE    UNKNOWN 

and  find  my  clothes,  to  cross  the  sai07i,  where  thirty  persons 
were  talking.  My  uneasiness  lasted  a  long  time,  and  I  was 
seeking  some  way  to  get  my  clothes,  when  I  awoke.  Now 
when  I  woke  up  I  felt  that  I  was  cold,  having  thrown  off  my 
covering.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  sensation  of  cold 
determined  my  dream,  just  as  the  explosion  determined  the 
image  of  a  man  striking  with  his  heel." 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  brief  descriptions,  taken  from 
fact,  how  numerous  and  varied  dreams  are,  and  what  differ- 
ent causes  produce  them. 

It  is  a  physiological  error  to  think  that  the  physiological 
elements  of  dreams  are  derived  solely  from  reality.  For  my- 
self, for  example  (and  my  case  is  not  peculiar),  I  have  very 
often  dreamed  of  flying  through  the  air,  at  a  short  distance 
above  a  valley  or  an  attractive  landscape.  Indeed,  it  is  to 
the  agreeable  sensation  experienced  in  these  dreams  that  I 
owe  the  desire  to  ascend  in  a  balloon  and  to  make  aerial 
voyages.  I  should  say,  in  this  connection,  that  the  sensation 
experienced  during  a  balloon  ascension,  however  splendid 
may  be  the  extent  of  the  panorama  developed  under  one^s 
eyes,  and  the  solemn  silence  of  the  aerial  elevation,  caunot 
be  compared  with  the  motion  felt  in  dreams,  for  in  the  car  of 
the  aeronaut  one  feels  one's  self  motionless — a  molecule  of 
air  plunged  into  other  air  which  is  in  motion — and,  therefore, 
we  experience  a  sense  of  disillusion. 

It  is  not  easy  to  see  what  are  the  facts  in  organic  life 
which  produce  the  sensation  of  flight  in  dreams.  It  certainly 
is  not  due  to  vertigo,  as  has  been  supposed.  Could  it  arise 
from  regret  at  being  inferior  to  the  birds  ?  But  the  sen- 
sation ? 

I  have  also  often  dreamed  of  talking  with  Napoleon. 
Certainly  I  often  heard  the  conqueror  spoken  of  in  my  child- 
hood, by  men  who  had  seen  him,  and  my  mind  may  have  been 
impressed  by  this.  But  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect  re- 
mains very  remote. 

Sometimes  I  see  myself  shut  up  in  a  tower  with  a  beau- 
tiful green  meadow  before  me.     What  is  the  cause  of  this  ? 

Sometimes    I  am    condemned  to   death,   and    I  have  no 

326 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

more  than  two  hours,  one  hour,  half  an  hour,  a  few  minutes 
to  live.     Can  this  be  a  by-gone  remembrance  ? 

Again,  I  have  travelled  in  a  dream  to  other  worlds,  into 
infinite  depths  of  space.  But  here  there  may  be  associations 
of  thoughts  which  are  familiar  to  me. 

In  general,  and  in  normal  condition,  dreams  are  so  numer- 
ous, so  varied,  so  incoherent,  that  it  is  almost  superfluous  to 
seek  their  cause,  outside  of  the  associations  of  ideas  latent  in 
the  mind,  or  of  images  dormant  in  the  brain.  One  dreams, 
just  as  one  thinks  of  all  sorts  of  things  and  of  situations,  only 
instead  of  thoughts  as  in  the  waking  state,  one  imagines  that 
one  acts,  that  one  sees  the  things  thought  of,  and  the  ideas 
become  apparent  acts.  The  whole  difference  lies  in  this, 
and  as  reason  is  absent  from  these  unconscious  acts,  the 
most  extravagant  situations  are  realized,  very  simply  and 
without  any  surprise,  as  if  they  were  natural. 

Three  characteristic  phases  may  be  observed  in  dreams. 
While  in  the  waking  state  an  idea  remains  an  idea,  in  the 
dream  it  becomes  an  image,  and  then  a  realit}^,  either  a  per- 
son or  a  thing. 

In  a  dream  we  personify  our  own  ideas,  and  we  attribute 
to  different  personages  thoughts  and  words  which  are  en- 
tirely our  own. 

A.  Maury  Avrites  thus  :  ^^In  one  of  the  clearest,  most  dis- 
tinct, most  reasonable  dreams  which  I  have  ever  had,  I  car- 
ried on  a  discussion  on  the  immortality  of  the  soul  with  an 
antagonist,  and  we  both  made  use  of  opposite  arguments, 
which  were  nothing  but  the  objections  that  I  had  made  my- 
self. This  division  which  operates  in  the  mind,  and  from 
which  Dr.  Wigan  deduces  proofs  of  his  paradoxical  thesis, 
the  duality  of  the  mind,  is  in  general  only  a  phenomenon  of 
memory.  We  remember  the  pros  and  cons  of  a  question, 
and  in  a  dream  we  attribute  the  two  kinds  of  opposite  ideas 
to  two  different  persons.  On  one  occasion  the  word  Mussi- 
dan  came  suddenly  to  my  mind.  I  knew  well  at  that  time 
that  it  was  the  name  of  a  town  in  France,  but  where  it  was 
situated  I  did  not  know,  or,  rather,  I  had  forgotten.  Some 
time  afterwards  I  saw  in  a  dream  a  certain  person  who  told 

327 


THE    UNKNOWN 

me  that  he  came  from  Mussidan.  I  asked  him  where  the 
town  was.  He  answered  that  it  was  the  country  town  of  a 
district  in  the  Department  of  the  Dordogne.  At  this  point 
in  the  dream  I  woke  up.  It  was  morning.  The  dream  re- 
mained perfectly  distinct  in  my  mind,  but  I  was  in  doubt  as 
to  the  correctness  of  what  the  person  in  the  dream  had  told 
me.  The  name  Mussidan  still  presented  itself  to  my  mind, 
as  it  had  done  previously — that  is  to  say,  without  my  know- 
ing where  the  town  by  that  name  was  situated.  I  hastened 
to  consult  a  geographical  dictionary,  and  to  my  great  as- 
tonishment I  ascertained  that  the  speaker  in  my  dream  knew 
more  about  geography  than  I  did — that  is  to  say  in  other 
words,  I  had  remembered  in  my  dream  a  fact  forgotten  in 
the  waking  state,  and  I  had  put  into  the  mouth  of  another 
something  which  with  me  was  only  the  faintest  remem- 
brance.'' 

"A  good  many  years  ago,  at  a  time  when  I  was  studying 
English,  and  when  I  was  paying  special  attention  to  under- 
standing verbs  accompanied  by  prepositions,  I  had  the  fol- 
lowing dream :  I  spoke  English,  and  wishing  to  tell  some 
one  that  I  had  paid  him  a  visit  the  day  before,  I  employed 
this  expression:  'I  called  for  you  yesterday.'  'You  ex- 
press yourself  very  badly,'  he  answered.  '  What  you  should 
say  is :  I  called  on  you  yesterday.'  The  next  morning, 
when  I  woke,  the  remembrance  of  this  circumstance  in  my 
dream  remained.  I  took  a  grammar  placed  on  a  neighbor- 
ing table,  and  I  discovered  that  the  imaginary  person  was 
right." 

The  remembrance  of  something  forgotten  in  the  waking 
state  had  returned  in  a  dream,  and  the  observer  attributed 
the  workings  of  his  own  mind  to  another  person. 

The  large  majority  of  dreams  can  be  explained  quite  nat- 
urally by  the  concentration  of  thought  during  sleep. 

Max  Simon  and  Alfred  Maury  consider  that  there  is  no 
one  accustomed  to  intellectual  work  who  is  not  convinced 
that  the  action  of  the  brain  is  often  accomplished  without 
our  knowledge  and  without  the  intervention  of  the  will. 
Facts  illustrative  of  this  action  present  themselves  at  every 

328 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

turn.  When  scholars  have  a  lesson  to  learn,  we  find  that 
they  study  it  by  preference  in  the  evening,  being  convinced, 
and  with  reason,  that  this  method  is  of  material  aid  to  them. 
They  know  a  lesson,  which  they  have  learned,  much  better 
and  more  certainly  the  next  morning  than  they  did  the  even- 
ing before.  Persons  who  have  struggled  with  the  difficulties 
which  are  always  encountered  in  acquiring  a  foreign  language 
have  experienced  the  following  fact :  If  their  daily  occupa- 
tions or  the  duties  of  their  position  have  obliged  them  on 
several  occasions  to  interrupt  their  study  of  the  language, 
they  are  sometimes  surprised  to  find  on  returning  to  their 
work  that  the  momentary  refreshment  has  given  them  a  more 
complete  acquaintance  with  the  foreign  idiom  than  that  they 
had  on  leaving  it.  A  similar  statement  could  be  made  in  re- 
gard to  original  work,  either  in  literary  composition  or  in 
scientific  research.  If  some  difficulty  hinders  the  worker, 
and  he  ceases  to  occupy  himself  with  the  subject  which  he  is 
studying,  he  will  find,  after  some  days  of  repose,  that  his 
mind  has,  so  to  speak,  done  its  work  alone  during  this  time. 
He  will  advance  with  the  greatest  rapidity,  and  the  obstacles 
which  at  first  seemed  to  him  almost  insurmountable  will  be 
a  mere  trifle.  But  one  fact,  which  has  a  certain  importance 
in  this  connection,  must  be  noted :  it  is  that  very  frequently, 
in  cases  of  unconscious  cerebration,  an  impulse  has  been  pri- 
marily given,  or  a  direction  imparted,  to  thought,  and  it  is 
along  the  direction  given  by  this  impulse  that  the  cerebral 
action  continues  until  it  results  in  a  work  of  more  com- 
pleteness.' 

It  is  easy  to  understand  that  mental  work,  when  it  is  the 
result  of  a  cerebral  impulse  given  during  the  evening  and 
completing  itself  during  sleep,  may  produce  dreams  which 
will  be  to  some  extent  the  reflected  expression  of  the  prob- 
lem on  which  the  sleeper  was  engaged,  or  the  preoccupation 
which  possessed  him. 

Condillac  relates  that,  at  the  period  when  he  was  drawing 
up  his  courses  of  study,  he  found  that  if  he  was  obliged  to 

'  Max  Simon,  Le  Monde  des  rives,  p.  49. 
329 


THE    UNKNOWN 

leave  an  incomplete  work  in  course  of  preparation,  in  order 
to  sleep,  he  often  found  when  he  awoke  that  the  work  was 
completed  in  his  mind. 

Voltaire  mentions  that  one  night  he  dreamed  a  complete 
canto  of  his  Henriade,  and  that  it  was  entirely  different  from 
what  he  had  written. 

One  celebrated  dream  is  often  referred  to  in  this  connec- 
tion. It  is  one  in  which  a  scene  of  the  most  curious  and  fan- 
tastic character  accompanied  the  unconscious  intellectual 
labor  of  the  dreamer,  who  was  no  other  than  Tartini.  This 
celebrated  composer  went  to  sleep  after  having  tried  in  vain 
to  conclude  a  sonata;  his  preoccupation  followed  him  into 
his  sleep.  In  his  dream  he  thought  that  he  began  his  work 
over  again,  and  that  he  was  in  despair  at  composing  with  so 
little  inspiration  and  success ;  at  that  moment  the  devil  sud- 
denly appeared  to  him  and  offered  to  finish  the  sonata  for 
him  in  exchange  for  his  soul.  Tartini,  entirely  overmastered 
by  the  apparition,  accepted  the  devil's  terms,  and  then  dis- 
tinctly heard  the  latter  execute  the  longed-for  sonata  on  the 
violin,  with  an  inexpressible  charm  of  execution.  He  awoke, 
and  in  a  transport  of  joy  he  ran  to  his  desk  and  wrote  from 
memory  the  part  which  he  really  believed  he  had  heard. 

How  are  images  like  those  just  described  in  this  dream  of 
Tartini's  produced  ?  To  what  mechanism  do  they  owe  their  ap- 
pearance ?  It  is  impossible  to  say;  not  because  the  question 
is  insoluble,  but  because  the  narrator  of  facts  which  are  not 
personal  generally  omits  some  datails  which  would  supply  us 
with  the  key  to  certain  circumstances  in  the  dream,  because 
he  thinks  them  of  no  importance.  It  is  possible  that  this 
image  of  the  devil  associating  himself  with  the  mental  work 
of  the  groat  composer  had  its  raison  d'etre  and  its  explana- 
tion in  the  fact  that  some  artistic  representation,  either  drawn 
or  painted,  had  been  presented  to  the  musician's  sight,  and 
some  thought  of  it  may  have  crossed  his  mind.  But  this  point 
is  of  secondary  importance.  What  we  wish  once  more  to  lay 
stress  upon  is  the  manner  in  which  the  dream  was  produced, 
the  genesis  of  the  dream.  Tartini's  thoughts  had  been  power- 
fully occupied  with  the  musical  composition  upon  which  he 

330 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

was  at  work,  and,  as  is  frequently  the  case  in  operations  of 
the  mind,  the  idea,  not  being  ripe,  produced  at  first  no  effect; 
but  during  sleep  (and  in  spite  of  it)  the  incomplete  work 
was  finished,  and  the  marvellous  melody  gushed,  as  it  were, 
from  the  musician's  brain. 

If  we  take  away  the  previous  mental  effort  and  tension  of 
mind  the  dream  would  not  have  appeared  —  that  is,  sup- 
posing it  to  be  true  that  this  singular  cerebral  labor  is  only 
exercised  upon  the  special  object  of  the  dream's  study,  on  the 
science  or  the  art  which  he  cultivates  with  passion. 

Graciolet  relates  the  dream  here  given,  which  is  certainly 
very  grotesque  : 

"  Some  years  ago,  when  occupied  by  my  illustrious  master, 
M.  de  Blainville,  in  a  study  of  the  organization  of  the  brain, 
I  prepared  a  very  great  number  of  brains,  some  of  men  and 
some  of  animals.  I  took  off  the  membranes  with  care,  I 
placed  them  in  alcohol.  Briefly  stated,  these  were  the  antece- 
dents of  the  dream  I  am  about  to  relate. 

''  One  night  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  extracted  my  own 
brain.  I  removed  its  membranes.  After  having  completed 
the  preparation  I  suspended  it  in  alcohol,  and  then,  after  some 
time,  I  took  it  out  and  replaced  it  in  my  skull.  Then  it 
seemed  to  me  that  my  brain  had  undergone  a  great  reduction 
in  size,  in  consequence  of  the  shrinkage  due  to  the  alcohol. 
It  filled  the  cranial  cavity  incompletely,  so  that  I  felt  it  shak- 
ing in  my  head;  this  sensation  bewildered  me  so  much  that 
I  woke  up  suddenly  and  recovered  from  that  dream  as  from 
a  nightmare. 

^'  No  doubt  this  shows  a  grotesque  and  absurd  imagination; 
but  it  did  not  occur  without  a  reason,  and  indeed  this  dream 
had  a  very  evident  relation  to  matters  with  which  I  was  at  that 
time  particularly  occupied.  Probably  I  imagined  myself  to 
be  removing  a  strange  brain,  and  at  that  moment  some  acci- 
dent caused  me  to  have  a  distinct  perception  of  my  own  head. 
Thinking  at  the  same  time  of  my  head  and  of  my  brain,  these 
two  ideas  remained  associated,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
dream  is  a  logical  and  natural  conclusion." 

The  physiologist  Abercrombie  gives  a  very  curious  dream, 

331 


THE    UNKNOWN 

which,  like  the  former,  was  the  result  of  preoccupation  or  the 
mind. 

*'  One  of  my  friends,"  he  says,  "  who  was  employed  in  one  of 
the  principal  banks  at  Glasgow  in  the  capacity  of  cashier,  was 
at  his  desk,  when  an  individual  presented  himself,  present- 
ing a  claim  for  the  payment  of  the  sum  of  six  pounds  (150 
francs).  There  were  several  persons  before  him  who  were 
waiting  their  turn ;  but  he  was  so  impatient,  so  noisy,  and, 
above  all,  so  insupportable  by  reason  of  his  stammering,  that 
one  of  the  assistants  begged  the  cashier  to  pay  him,  in  order 
to  get  rid  of  him.  The  latter  gave  him  what  he  wanted,  with 
a  gesture  of  impatience,  and  without  paying  much  attention 
to  the  matter.  At  the  end  of  the  year,  which  was  eight  or 
nine  months  after,  the  books  could  not  be  balanced,  there 
was  a  constant  error  of  six  pounds.  My  friend  passed  several 
days  and  nights  in  a  useless  search  for  the  deficit ;  at  last, 
overcome  by  fatigue,  he  returned  home,  went  to  bed,  and 
dreamed  that  he  was  at  his  desk,  that  the  man  who  stam- 
mered had  appeared,  and  soon  all  the  details  of  the  affair 
returned  to  his  mind  with  accuracy.  He  awoke  with  his 
mind  full  of  his  dream,  and  with  the  hope  that  he  might 
find  what  he  was  looking  for.  Upon  examining  his  books 
he  found,  in  fact,  that  this  sum  had  not  been  entered  on 
the  ledger,  and  that  it  exactly  corresponded  to  the  def- 
icit. ^^^ 

It  will  be  seen  in  this  dream  that  the  sum  revealed  to  the 
dreamer  was  already  known  to  him,  but  that  the  will  had  for 
a  long  time  remained  powerless  to  awaken  the  remembrance 
which  was  buried  in  the  depths  of  memory.  But  his  pre- 
occupation had  been  intense,  and  his  mind  had  been  strained 
for  a  long  time  in  one  direction  ;  this  mental  effort,  al- 
though at  first  wholly  unproductive,  resulted  in  renewed  cer- 
ebral activity,  a  series  of  images  were  evoked  and  finally 
produced  a  clear  perception  of  a  fact  which  had  been  uselessly 
sought  for  during  the  day  before. 

Some  of  the  dreams  which  are  apparently  due  to  telepathy 

^Inquiries  Concerning  the  Intellectual  Powers,  1841,  p.  280. 
332 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

are  of  this  kind,  and  more  than  one  apparition  of  the  dead 
might  be  explained  on  this  basis. 

The  explanation  of  the  greater  number  of  dreams  will  be 
found  in  physical  influences,  or  in  unconscious  cerebration  of 
ideas  and  images  lying  latent  in  the  brain.  It  is  of  great 
importance,  therefore,  that  we  should  review  this  physio- 
logical action  in  order  to  judge  scientifically  of  the  facts 
which  we  have  to  analyze.  The  results  of  my  investigations 
have  revealed  a  large  number  of  dreams  which  can  be  ex- 
plained physiologically,  and  which  we  will  not  reproduce 
here. 

But  external  psychic  forces  are  capable  of  influencing  our 
minds  during  sleep  as  well  as  in  the  waking  state.  We 
shall  now  take  up  the  examination  of  this  kind  of  dreams. 
The  psychic  phenomena  related  in  Chapter  III.  have  been 
observed  by  persons  who  were  wide  awake  and  in  full  posses- 
sion of  their  faculties.  We  have  not  yet  considered  those 
which  belong  to  dreams,  because  they  seem  to  be  of  a  differ- 
ent character  and  to  form  another  class.  Their  evidence 
seems  to  us  less  reliable,  for  the  number  of  such  dreams  is 
great,  and  the  coincidences  which  have  produced  them,  are 
balanced  by  innumerable  non-coincidences.  It  must  also  be 
said  that  they  are  always  a  little  vague,  and  subject  to  fluc- 
tuations of  the  memory.  Nevertheless,  I  do  not  believe  that 
it  would  be  logical  to  reject  them  without  examination.  Some 
of  the  visions  seen  in  dreams  present  a  special  interest  for  the 
observer,  and  may  show  us  something  more  in  regard  to  the 
faculties  of  the  human  mind. 

Now  that  the  psychic  action  of  one  mind  upon  another 
has  been  proved  by  a  preceding  chapter,  and  the  demonstra- 
tion is  complete,  we  can  enter  the  more  complicated  world  of 
dreams. 

One  very  curious  case  observed  in  a  dream  has  been  al- 
ready remarked  upon  (p.  225) :  it  is  that  of  a  young  girl  in 
Paris,  who  saw  her  mother  dying  in  the  provinces  and  call- 
ing to  her  for  a  last  embrace.  This  dream  has  been  classed 
by  Brierre  de  Boismont  among  hallucinations,  but  with  a 
reservation  showing  its   psychic    character.      A  telepathic 


THE    UNKNOWN 

dream  of  the  same  kind  (p.  332)  has  also  been  given  above. 
I  will  now  present  to  my  readers  some  extracts  from  letters 
which  I  have  received  in  answer  to  my  inquiries,  from  persons 
who  have  experienced  apparitions  and  dying  manifestations 
in  dreams.  They  are  no  less  probable  nor  less  interesting 
than  the  first  cases  reported,  and  should,  it  seems  to  me,  be 
included  in  the  same  class. 

I.  ^^  In  the  night  of  July  25,  1894, 1  saw  in  a  dream  a  young 
man  whom  I  had  known  formerly,  from  1883  to  1885,  when 
he  was  serving  his  military  term,  and  whom  I  was  to  have 
married. 

"  For  reasons  which  have  no  importance  here  I  had  broken 
off  all  relations  with  him,  and  the  marriage  had  not  taken 
place.  From  that  time  I  had  heard  nothing  of  him  (he  lived 
at  Pau  and  I  in  Paris),  when  on  the  night  of  the  25th  of  July 
I  saw  him  in  a  dream  just  as  I  had  known  him,  dressed  in 
his  uniform  as  sergeant-major.  He  regarded  me  with  a  look 
of  great  sadness,  and  showed  me  a  packet  of  letters.  Then 
the  apparition  faded  away,  just  as  the  dawn  disappears  before 
the  sun. 

'^I  awoke  in  great  distress,  and  for  a  long  time  the  dream 
remained  with  me,  and  I  asked  myself  why,  why,  should  it 
have  come  to  me  who  never  thought  of  him,  although  I  had 
always  felt  for  him  a  sincere  regard. 

'^On  the  20th  of  January,  1895,  I  learned  that  his  death 
occurred  on  the  night  of  the  25th  of  July,  1894,  and  that  one 
of  his  last  thoughts  was  of  me.  Lucie  Labadie. 

-Rochefort."  Letters. 

II.  *^^ During  the  war  of  1870  and  1871,  one  of  my  intimate 
friends,  the  wife  of  an  officer,  while  shut  up  in  Metz,  dreamed 
that  my  father,  her  physician,  who  was  in  the  north,  and 
whom  she  loved  and  esteemed  profoundly,  came  to  the  foot 
of  her  bed  and  said  to  her,  *^Look,  I  have  just  died.^ 

'*  As  soon  as  outside  communication  was  possible,  my  friend 
wrote  to  me  with  tears,  asking  me  for  exact  news  of  my 
family,  and  begging  to  know  whether  any  misfortune  had  be- 
fallen my  relatives  on  the  18th  of  September,  since  on  that 

334 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

day  she  had  had  a  dream  in  regard  to  my  father  which  op- 
pressed her  very  much.  Alas,  on  the  18th  of  September,  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  my  father  had  died  suddenly, 
without  any  previous  illness. 

^'When  I  saw  this  lady  again  in  the  following  summer  she 
had  told  me  that  this  dream  had  impressed  her  the  more 
powerfully  because  a  short  time  before  she  had  had  a  similar 
dream  concerning  one  of  her  friends  who  lived  in  Metz,  and 
when  she  sent  for  news  of  him  in  the  morning  they  had  told 
her  that  he  had  just  died.  L.  Bouthors, 

"Director  of  Assessments  at  Chartres." 

Letter  38. 

III.  (A)  "I  was  seven  years  old.  My  father  lived  in  Paris. 
For  several  years  I  had  been  at  Niort  with  relatives  who  had 
undertaken  my  education.  One  day,  or  rather  one  night,  I 
had  a  dream.  I  went  up  an  interminable  staircase,  and  I 
reached  a  gloomy  room.  Beside  it  there  was  another,  feebly 
lighted.  I  went  into  this  second  room,  and  I  saw  a  coffin 
on  two  trestles  ;  a  lighted  taper  stood  beside  it. 

"  I  was  afraid,  and  I  fled.  When  I  reached  the  first  room 
I  felt  some  one's  hand  on  my  shoulder.  I  turned  round, 
trembling  with  terror,  and  I  recognized  my  father,  whom  I 
had  not  seen  for  two  years,  and  who  said  to  me  in  a  very 
gentle  voice:  'Do  not  be  afraid.     Embrace  me,  little  one.' 

^'  The  next  day  we  received  a  telegram.  My  poor  father 
had  died,  not  during  the  night,  but  on  the  preceding  evening. 

^^1  was  completely  orphaned,  for  my  mother  had  died 
some  years  before.  This  dream  impressed  me  so  much  that 
I  often  dream  it  over  again. 

(B)  "When  I  was  thirty  years  of  age,  the  aunt  who  brought 
me  up,  and  whom  I  loved  as  a  mother,  died  of  black  small- 
pox. I  had  not  oeen  told  of  her  death,  and  I  was,  of  course, 
not  permitted  to  go  into  her  room.  She  had  often  said  to 
me  in  jest :  '  Oh,  if  I  die,  and  you  are  not  near  me,  I  will 
come  to  bid  you  farewell.'  In  the  middle  of  the  night  I  saw 
a  white  form  advancing  towards  me,  which  I  did  not  at  first 
recognize.     I  woke  up  ;  there  was  twilight  in  my  room,  and 

335 


THE    UNKNOWN 

I  saiu  the  phmitom  reflected  in  a  glass  wardrobe  placed  opposite 
my  bed.  The  phantom  said  to  me  in  a  scarcely  audible 
voice,  *  Farewell  V  I  stretched  out  my  arms  to  clasp  it,  but 
it  had  disappeared. 

^'  My  poor  aunt  had  been  dead  several  hours  when  I  had 
this  hallucination.  V.  Bokifacb, 

"  Directress  of  the  Maternal  School,  ;i)tampes  (Seine-et-Oise)." 
Letter  35. 

V.  '*  My  wife  saw  the  figure  of  her  brother  at  the  precise 
moment  of  his  death. 

"  My  brother-in-law,  who  was  professor  in  the  college  at 
Luxeuil,  had  disease  of  the  lungs.  During  his  last  illness 
his  sister  nursed  him  with  the  greatest  devotion,  and  he  pre- 
ferred her  care  to  that  of  any  one  else.  My  wife's  relations, 
however,  in  coming  to  Luxeuil,  and  seeing  her  to  be  very 
much  fatigued,  persuaded  my  brother-in-law  to  come  with 
them  and  place  himself  at  a  deaconesses'  establishment  at 
Strasbourg.  About  three  weeks  after  his  departure  my  wife 
was  awakened  by  a  sort  of  nightmare,  and  saw,  in  her  half- 
awakened  condition,  her  brother  lying  enclosed  in  a  stone 
coffin  like  the  Eoman  tombal  stones  which  are  exhibited  at 
the  thermal  establishment  here.  The  coffin  contracted  itself 
more  and  more,  making  respiration  almost  impossible  to  her 
brother,  and  he,  looking  at  her  with  supplicating  eyes,  im- 
plored her  to  come  to  his  assistance  and  draw  him  out. 
Then  she  saw  him  assume  a  resigned  air,  and  he  seemed  to 
say  to  her  :  'Everything  is  at  an  end  ;  you  can  do  no  more.' 
With  that  she  awoke  completely,  and  noted  the  hour.  It 
was  twenty  minutes  past  three  in  the  morning. 

"  The  next  day  we  learned  of  my  brother-in-law's  death. 
The  hour  of  his  decease  coincided  exactly  with  that  of  the 
dream. 

"  May  I  leg  of  you  not  to  give  our  names,  A.  S. 

"Luxeuil  (Haute-Saone)." 

Letter  60. 

VI.  *'My  grandmother  died  last  year,  on  the  6th  of  Jan- 
uary, at  two  or  three  minutes  before  midnight.     She  lived  in 

336 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

the  country,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Rochefort-sur-Mer,  and 
was  then  at  Auxerre.  On  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  January 
we  had  celebrated  Twelfth  Night  very  joyously,  and  I  had 
gone  to  bed  without  thinking  of  my  grandmother,  although 
I  knew  that  she  had  been  suffering  severely  for  a  fort- 
night. 

^'I  woke  up  exactly  at  midnight  with  a  most  painful  im- 
pression. In  a  dream  I  had  just  seen  my  mother  and  my 
youngest  brother  in  deep  mourning.  I  was  persuaded  that 
the  morning  would  not  pass  without  my  receiving  some  con- 
firmation of  my  dream.  Was  there  not  some  strange  connec- 
tion between  the  dream  and  the  reality,  for  my  grandmother 
had  died  at  midnight  and  I  awoke  at  the  same  hour  ? 

^^M.  B. 
"Versailles." 

Letter  64. 

VIL  ^'  My  uncle  was  a  sergeant  in  the  Second  Regiment  of 
Infantry  when  war  was  declared  in  1870.  He  fought  in  the 
first  battles,  was  besieged  in  Metz,  taken  prisoner  to  May- 
ence,  and  thence  to  Torgau,  where  he  remained  nine  or  ten 
months. 

^'  On  Low  Sunday,  1871,  one  of  his  comrades  invited  him 
to  go  into  the  town  in  the  afternoon.  He  preferred  to  re- 
main in  camp  in  his  casemate,  saying  to  his  friend  that  he 
was  not  in  good  spirits,  but  not  knowing  himself  what  this 
sadness  could  be  attributed  to.  Being  left  alone,  or  almost 
alone,  he  threw  himself  entirely  dressed  upon  his  bed,  and 
slept  profoundly.  As  soon  as  he  was  asleep  it  seemed  to 
him  that  he  was  in  his  father's  house,  and  that  Ms  motlier 
was  dyiny  on  a  led.  He  saw  his  aunts  caring  for  his  mother 
until  she  died,  about  three  o'clock.  Then  he  woke  up,  and 
found  that  it  had  been  only  a  dream. 

"When  his  friend  returned  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening 
lie  told  him  what  he  had  seen  during  his  sleep,  and  he  added : 
•I  am  convinced  that  my  mother  died  to-day  about  three 
o'clock.' 

''He  was  laughed  at  for  this  idea,  but  a  letter  received 
from  his  brother  confirmed  the  sad  news. 

337 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"I  think  I  ought  to  add  that  the  dead  woman  was  in  a 
dying  state  about  three  o'clock.  Camille  Massot, 

"Apothecary  of  the  First  Class. 
"  Banyuls-sur-Mer  (Pyr-Or)." 

Letter  66. 

VIII.  "  My  mother  has  often  related  a  strange  dream  to  me. 
*'One  of  my  brothers-in-law  was  ill.      One   evening   she 

dreamed  that  she  beheld  him  dead ;  she  also  saw  my  grand- 
mother taking  away  his  children  by  a  road  which  she  did  not 
know,  but  which  crossed  a  large  field.  At  this  moment  she 
awoke,  and  also  roused  my  father,  in  order  to  acquaint  him 
with  the  dream  which  had  just  disturbed  her.  It  was  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning. 

*'  The  next  day  my  parents  received  information  that  my 
uncle  had  died  in  the  night  at  ten  o'clock  ;  and  then  mamma 
could  not  help  answering  that  she  knew  it.  She  then  ques- 
tioned my  grandmother  as  to  whether  she  had  taken  away 
the  children,  and  the  latter  answered  in  the  affirmative.  She 
also  said  that  she  had  crossed  the  field  exactly  as  mamma 
had  seen  her  in  her  dream.  M.  Odeok, 

"Teacher,  Saint-Genix-sur-Guiers  (Savoy)." 
Letter  68. 

IX.  *^One  winter  night,  in  1895,  I  dreamed  in  the  clearest 
manner  that  the  Sieur  Crouzier,  an  octogenarian,  in  my  vil- 
lage, which  was  situated  rather  less  than  ten  miles  from  the 
place  where  I  taught,  had  died  in  consequence  of  the  cold. 

'^  The  next  day  I  went  home  to  my  family,  and  my  mother 
said  to  me :  '  Do  you  know  old  Crouzier  died  last  night.  He 
would  get  up  towards  midnight,  was  overcome  by  the  cold, 
and  succumbed  almost  instantly.' 

*^  The  impression  caused  by  this  has  always  remained  with 
me,  and  I  am  glad  to  answer  your  inquiries  by  telling  you 
this  circumstance.  Alphokse  Vidal, 

"Teacher  at  Aramon  (Gard)." 
Letter  77. 

X.  "  My  mother,  who  was  in  France,  dreamed  that  she 
saw  her  brother,  who  was  then  in  America,  dying  in  her  arms. 

338 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

A  month  afterwards  she  received  news  of  the  death  of  this 

brother,  who  had  expired  in  the  arms  of  my  grandmother. 

The  dates  coincide.  A.  D. 

"Aries." 

Letter  118. 

XI.  '^I  had  a  brother  who  lived  at  St.  Petersburg  for 
twenty-five  years ;  onr  correspondence  had  never  been  inter- 
rupted. 

"  Three  years  ago,  in  the  month  of  July,  I  received  a  let- 
ter from  him.  On  the  8th  of  September  following  I  dreamed 
that  the  postman  brought  me  a  letter  from  St.  Petersburg, 
and  that  on  opening  the  letter  I  found  two  pictures,  one 
representing  a  dead  person  stretched  upon  his  bed  and 
dressed  in  what  I  had  myself  observed  to  be  the  fashion  in 
my  journey  to  Russia  in  1867. 

"  I  did  not  at  first  look  closely  at  the  face  of  the  dead  man. 
I  saw  several  persons  on  their  knees  around  the  bed,  among 
others  a  boy  and  a  little  girl  about  the  age  of  my  brother's 
children.  The  other  picture  represented  the  performance  of 
a  funeral  ceremony.  I  then  examined  more  closely  the  face 
of  the  dead  man,  and  I  woke  up,  crying  out,  '  Ah,  but  it  is 
Lucien  !'  which  was  my  brother's  name. 

'^Some  days  later  I  learned  that  my  brother  had  really 
died  during  the  interval  (I  have  not  been  able  \o  ascertain  ex- 
actly which  day).  The  dream  is  always  present  in  my  mem- 
ory, and  I  have  related  it  to  several  persons. 

"  L.  Oarrau. 

"  46  Rue  de  Bel- Air,  Angers." 

Letter  125. 

XIL  ^'  My  great-grandfather  left  his  family,  who  lived 
near  Strasbourg,  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  I  believe  that  he 
never  returned  to  his  village,  and  that  he  never  saw  his  rela- 
tives again.  He  married  in  Nancy  when  he  was  twenty-four, 
and  his  wife  never  saw  her  parents-in-law. 

"  One  night  my  grandmother  saw  an  interminable  funeral 
procession  defile  before  her  bed.  The  next  day,  or  the  day 
after,  a  letter  announced  the  decease  of  her  father ;  the  f u- 

339 


THE    UNKNOWN 

neral  had  taken  place,  the  population  of  three  large  villages 
being  present  at  it,  as  well  as  the  mayor  and  the  cure  of 
the  place  (Bischeim),  although  it  was  the  funeral  of  a  Jew. 

''  Jenland. 
"55  Rue  de  Provence,  Paris." 

Letter  130. 

XIII.  '^I  have  to  record  occurrences  in  two  dreams,  with 
the  coincidence  of  death. 

(A)  ^^The  first  happened  to  my  father,  Pierre  Dutant, 
who  died  in  1880,  having  been  apothecary  at  Bordeaux  for 
fifty  years. 

"  He  was  a  man  of  absolutely  honest  and  scrupulous  char- 
acter, with  a  very  fine  intelligence,  and  none  of  his  numer- 
ous acquaintances  ever  doubted  his  word. 

"  Here  is  the  fact  which  he  related  to  me  many  times,  and 
which  I  tell  you  almost  as  he  told  it. 

^'  *■  One  night  I  dreamed  that  my  brother,  then  a  notary  at 
Lengnau,  and  thirty-three  years  of  age,  was  a  child  together 
with  myself,  and  that  we  both  played  in  our  father's  house. 
All  at  once  he  fell  from  a  window  into  the  street,  crying  to 
me,  ^' Adieu!''  I  awoke,  and  being  very  much  impressed 
with  the  vividness  of  the  dream,  I  looked  at  the  hour :  three 
o'clock.  I  did  not  go  to  sleep  again.  I  knew  that  my 
brother  was  ill,  but  I  did  not  believe  him  in  danger  of 
death.  But  my  brother  died  that  night  at  three  o'clock 
precisely.' 

(B)  ''  The  second  fact  concerns  me  personally.  One  night 
I  dreamed  that  an  aged  cousin,  who  loved  me  dearly,  had 
died.  The  next  morning  I  told  it  to  my  parents,  who  re- 
member very  well  that  I  did  so. 

'^  In  the  same  week,  and  two  or  three  days  after  the 
dream  (I  have  not  written  it  down,  and  I  cannot  give  the 
date  exactly),  this  old  cousin  died  of  an  apoplectic  attack. 
She  was  very  well,  however,  on  the  night  of  the  dream,  but 
she  died  only  a  few  days  after,  and  I  have  always  regarded 
the  dream  as  a  warning  or  presentiment. 

(C)  "I  can  tell  you  still  another  case,  which  happened  to 

340 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

myself  and  impressed  me  a  great  deal  when  it  occarred,  but 
as  this  event  is  concerned  with  a  dog,  perhaps  I  am  wrong 
to  abuse  your  time.  The  only  excuse  I  can  make  is  that  I 
do  not  know  what  are  the  limits  of  these  problems. 

''  I  was  then  a  young  girl,  and  I  often  had  dreams  of  re- 
markable clearness.  We  had  a  little  dog  of  unusual  intelli- 
gence, and  she  was  particularly  attached  to  me,  although  I 
caressed  her  very  little.  One  night  I  dreamed  that  she  had 
died,  and  that  she  looked  at  me  with  human  eyes.  On  wak- 
ing up  I  said  to  my  sister :  '  Lionne  is  dead  ;  I  dreamed  it, 
and  I  am  sure  of  it.'  My  sister  laughed,  and  would  not  be- 
lieve me.  We  rang  for  the  maid,  and  told  her  to  call  the 
dog.  They  called  her ;  she  did  not  come.  They  looked 
everywhere,  and  at  last  they  found  her,  dead,  in  a  corner. 
Now  the  day  before  she  was  not  ill,  and  there  had  been 
nothing  to  provoke  my  dream. 

"M.  R.  Lacassagne,  nee  Dutant. 
"  Castres." 

Letter  139. 

XVL  "  I  was  a  student  of  medicine  in  Paris,  in  1862.  One 
day  my  concierge,  who  woke  me  up  to  go  to  the  hospital  and 
brought  me  my  first  breakfast  in  bed,  found  me  in  tears. 
He  asked  me  what  was  the  matter,  and  I  answered :  'I  have 
just  had  a  horrible  nightmare ;  my  uncle,  who  brought  me 
up  (for  I  had  lost  my  father  and  mother  very  young),  and 
whom  I  loved  tenderly,  was  about  to  die  just  as  I  woke,  and 
I  am  sure  that  I  shall  have  news  of  his  death  by  the  first 
boat  which  arrives  from  Havana,  my  native  place.' 

'^  That  was  exactly  what  happened.  I  cannot  certify  you 
that  it  was  the  same  hour  as  my  dream,  for  I  do  not  now  re- 
member, but  the  coincidence  of  the  day  is  exact. 

P.S. — I  beg  you  not  to  publish  my  name.  So  far  as  the 
experience  is  concerned  you  are  at  liberty  to  insert  it  if  it  is 
of  sufficient  consequence.  Dr.  F.  de  M. 

"^^^•"  Letter  153. 

XVII.  ''  I  have  a  brother  who  from  1870  to  1874  was  em- 
ployed as  machinist  in  the  arsenal  atFou-Chou  in  China.  He 

341 


THE    UNKNOWN 

had  a  friend,  also  a  machinist,  and  a  native  of  the  same  town 
(Brest) ;  this  friend  was  employed,  like  himself,  at  the  arse- 
nal, and  he  came  one  morning  to  see  my  brother  at  his  lodg- 
ings, and  related  to  him  what  follows  :  '  My  dear  friend, 
I  am  heartbroken.  I  dreamed  last  night  that  my  child 
was  dead  of  croup,  and  was  lying  on  a  red  quilt.'  My 
brother  laughed  at  his  credulity,  talked  of  nightmares,  and 
in  order  to  dissipate  this  impression  invited  his  friend  to 
breakfast.  But  nothing  could  distract  him,  for  his  child 
was  dead. 

^'  The  first  letter  which  he  received  from  France  after  this 
occurrence  was  from  his  wife,  and  it  announced  the  death  of 
his  child,  who  died  of  croup,  with  great  suffering,  the  very 
night  of  his  dream,  and  by  a  strange  coincidence  lay  on  a  red 
quilt. 

"  When  he  received  this  letter  he  came  to  my  brother,  in 

tears,  and  showed  the  letter  to  him,  and  from  him  I  received 

this  story.  H.  V. 

"Brest." 

Letter  162. 

XVIII.  "  One  of  my  cousins  lived  at  Nyon,  in  Switzerland, 
and  her  mother  at  Clairveaux,  in  the  Jura.  During  one 
severe  winter  all  communication  became  impossible  on  ac- 
count of  the  snow.  My  aunt  had  been  ill  a  long  time ;  her 
daughter,  however,  did  not  know  that  she  was  more  unwell 
than  usual.  One  night,  in  a  dream,  she  saw  her  mother  dead  ; 
she  awoke  in  terror,  and  said  to  her  husband  :  ^My  mother 
is  dead  ;  I  have  just  seen  her !'  See  wished  to  set  out  at  once 
for  Clairveaux,  but  they  dissuaded  her,  showing  her  the  im- 
prudence of  undertaking  a  journey  in  the  snow  for  the  sake 
of  a  mere  presentiment.  The  post  did  not  come  in,  and  they 
did  not  receive  any  letters. 

''  That  same  evening,  or  the  next  day,  I  do  not  know 
which,  my  cousin  saw  a  horseman  enter  the  park,  and  then 
she  cried  out :  ^  They  are  coming  to  tell  me  of  the  death  of 
my  mother.'  And,  in  fact,  not  being  able  to  communicate 
with  her  otherwise,  they  had  sent  a  horseman  to  inform  her 

342 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

that  her  mother  had  died  during  the  night.     It  occurred  at 
the  moment  when  my  cousin  had  the  dream. 

'^My  cousin  is  still  living,  and  could  give  me  more  precise 
details  if  you  wish  for  them.  G.  Belbei^ at. 

*'  Lons-le-Sauinier  (Jura)." 

Letter  286. 

XIX.  "  I  have  an  experience,  noted  by  one  of  my  friends, 
to  communicate  to  your  investigations.  It  comes  from  a 
former  railroad  contractor,  in  France  and  elsewhere,  who  has 
now  retired  from  business  and  is  living  at  Saint- Pierre -l^s- 
Nemours.     His  honor  and  good  faith  are  above  suspicion. 

"  Here  is  the  fact  as  he  related  it  to  me  : 

"  'I  had  gone  to  see  a  very  sick  friend  who  was  a  farmer; 
at  the  entrance  to  the  farm  I  met  his  mother-in-law,  who  told 
me  that  her  son-in-law  had  already  received  several  visits 
which  had  greatly  fatigued  him,  hn\  nevertheless  she  insisted 
that  I  should  come  in  to  see  him  for  a  few  minutes,  adding 
that  it  would  give  him  a  great  deal  of  pleasure.  I  then 
begged  this  lady  to  wish  him  a  good-day  for  me,  and  to  tell 
him  I  would  call  again  on  the  morrow. 

"  *  During  the  following  night,  or  rather  about  seven  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  while  I  was  asleep,  just  before  getting  up,  I 
was  suddenly  seized  by  a  nightmare.  I  thought  I  saw  the 
sick  man,  about  the  size  of  a  child,  embedded  in  a  hole  in 
the  embankment  of  the  road,  a  few  yards  from  the  farm,  and  I 
made  every  effort  to  drag  him  out  of  this  hole  without  success. 

"  '  After  a  few  moments  I  sprang  out  of  bed  to  get  rid  of 
this  nightmare,  and  in  the  morning  I  learned  that  the  death 
of  the  farmer  had  occurred  at  the  very  hour  when  I  had 
the  vision.' 

"  The  distance  from  Saint-Pierre-15s-Nemours  to  the  farm 
is  about  six  miles. 

"  The  occurrence  took  place  about  a  dozen  years  ago. 

^^J.  BOIREAU, 
••  Apothecary,  Nemours,  Seiue-et-Marne." 
Letter  298. 

XX.  *'  My  great-uncle,  M.  Henri  Horst,  who  was  professor 

343 


THE    UNKNOWN 

of  music  at  Strasbourg,  saw  one  night  in  a  dream, /ye  coffins 
come  out  of  his  own  door;  the  same  night  an  explosion  of  gas 
took  place  in  his  house  and /ye  persons  were  suffocated. 

"  Several  cases  of  telepathic  apparitions  are  known  in  our 
family.  I  will  inform  myself  in  regard  to  their  exact  details, 
and  communicate  them  to  you  as  soon  as  I  understand  them. 

"  Georges  Horet, 
"Scholar  at  the  Lycee,  Bouxviller,  Basse- Alsace." 
Letter  330. 

XXI.  "  I  have  never  experienced  what  you  inquire  into. 
But  in  dreams,  on  the  contrary,  I  have  sometimes  had  cer- 
tain warnings.  Among  others,  on  the  night  of  the  assassina- 
tion of  the  lamented  M.  Caruot,  I  saw  him  dead  in  my  dreams. 
The  preceding  evening  I  had  gone  to  bed  early.  Not  living  in 
the  town  of  Lyons,  but  at  Croix-Rousse,  a  suburb,  I  had  not 
heard  any  rumor  of  the  events  which  occurred  on  that  memo- 
rable evening.  In  the  morning  the  maid  entered  my  room 
and  I  said  to  her  at  once  :  '  I  have  just  dreamed  that  M.  Car- 
not  is  dead!"  She  answered  that  perhaps  it  might  be  so.  'Oh 
no,'  I  said  to  her,  '  my  dream  must  be  absurd,  for  he  will  pass 
under  my  windows  at  ten  o'clock.'  (He  was  accustomed,  in 
fact,  to  pass  along  the  boulevard.) 

^^  Ten  minutes  afterwards  she  returned  to  my  room  and 
said  to  me,  with  great  feeling :  '  Mademoiselle's  dream  is  come 
true;  the  milkman  has  just  told  me  that  M.  Carnot  was 
assassinated  yesterday  evening.'  In  spite  of  the  dream  which 
I  had  had,  it  was  difficult  for  me  to  believe  it  at  the  first 
moment.  A.  M. 

"Lyons."  Letter  340. 

XXII.  ''  Here  is  a  personal  experience :  On  the  night  of 
the  13th  of  June,  1887, 1  dreamed  that  my  mother  was  dead. 
The  next  morning  on  going  into  a  restaurant  I  spoke  of  the 
fact  to  a  colleague,  and  just  then  I  received  a  telegram  inform- 
ing me  of  the  misfortune  of  which  I  had  had  a  presentiment. 

"This  is  the  fact,  of  which  I  have  an  exact  remembrance. 

''A.  Carayois", 
"Principal  of  the  School  of  Croix  de  Fer  (Nlmes)." 
Letter  353. 
344 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

XXIII.  ''My  husband's  father  was  away  from  home,  where 
he  had  left  his  sick  wife.  He  was  awakened  one  night  by  his 
wife^'s  voice,  which  called  him  distinctly  three  times  by  his 
name:  'Pierre!  Pierre!  Pierre!'  Thinking  that  this  was  only 
a  dream  he  went  to  sleep  again.  Two  days  later  he  received 
intelligence  that  his  wife  had  died  that  very  night. 

"Marie  Pauvrel. 

"Vedrin." 

Letter  358. 

XXIV.  "In  the  night  of  the  1st  and  2d  of  January,  1898, 
I  saw  my  mother,  who  had  died  two  years  and  a "  half 
previously.  She  advanced  solemnly  to  my  bed,  kissed  me  on 
the  forehead,  and  went  out  without  saying  anything.  The 
next  day  I  received  a  letter  announcing  the  sudden  death  of 
my  sister  on  the  evening  of  the  1st  of  January,  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  As  I  did  not  wake  up,  it  is  impossible  for  me 
to  know  whether  there  was  a  perfect  coincidence  between  the 
hour  of  my  dream  and  that  of  my  sister's  deafch. 

"M.  Razous, 
"Teacher  at  Trelons  (Haute-Gar)." 
Letter  360. 

XXV.  "  Madame  V.,  who  lived  at  Geneva,  had  a  brother 

who  was  a  dentist  in  the  canton  of  Vaud.     This  brother  died 

suddenly.     On  the    night  of  his  death   Madame  V.  had  a 

dream  in  which  she  saw  on  the  wall  her  brother's  name  and 

the  date  of  his  birth,  or  that  of  his  death,  I  do  not  remember 

which.     When  she  awoke  she  dreaded  a  misfortune,  which 

was  realized.  Jeanis'e  Blan"C. 

"  Le  Cannet  (Alp-Mar)." 

Letter  365. 

XXVI.  "  I  was  at  a  convent.  One  night  we  were  awakened 
by  cries  and  sobs.  The  sister  on  watch  went  to  the  child's 
bed,  and  the  latter  told  her,  amid  her  tears,  that  her  grand- 
mother was  dead,  that  she  had  called  her,  and  that  she 
wanted  to  go  to  her. 

''  They  calmed  her ;  we  were  told  to  pray,  and  the  nun  said  a 
rosary,  after  which  we  returned  to  our  beds  and  went  to  sleep. 

345 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"Again  we  were  aroused.  The  young  girl  had  had  the 
dream  over  again.  She  told  us  that  her  grandmother  was  dead, 
that  she  had  taken  the  most  heart-rending  leave  of  those 
around  her,  and  that  she  had  specially  designated  a  casket  in 
which  she  had  deposited  her  jewels  which  she  wished  to  be- 
queath to  her  favorite  granddaughter. 

*^  The  night  came  to  an  end. 

'*  The  next  morning  at  eight  o'clock  we  were  all  gathered 
in  class,  and  were  on  our  knees  for  the  short  pra3^er  which 
preceded  our  studies,  when  there  was  a  violent  ring  at  the 
bell,  making  us  all  tremble,  without  knowing  why,  for  we 
could  not  all  of  us  be  interested  in  the  event,  and  the  eldest 
sister  of  our  companion  entered. 

"  She  came  for  her  young  sister.  The  grandmother  had 
died  during  the  night,  and  everything  the  young  girl  had 
seen  occurred  just  as  she  had  related  it. 

'^  You  may  imagine  the  excitement  which  this  created  in  the 
convent.  It  was  interpreted  as  an  act  of  divine  interven- 
tion, and  the  day  was  passed  in  prayer.  J.  G. 

"Paris." 

Letter  374. 

XXVII.  "  About  two  years  ago,  at  Jarnac,  a  lady,  who  is 
a  friend  of  my  family,  while  in  a  light  sleep,  was  suddenly 
aroused  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  by  a  voice  which 
called  her  very  distinctly,  and  which  she  recognized  as  that 
of  her  brother-in-law,  the  last  news  from  whom  had  been 
good. 

^'No  one  was  in  her  room  at  the  moment,  nor  in  the 
neighboring  apartments,  and  it  was  impossible  to  refer  the 
impression  to  any  known  cause. 

"Some  hours  later,  about  ten  o^clock,  this  lady  learned 
by  telegram  that  her  brother-in-law,  who  lived  at  Auzances, 
had  just  died  suddenly.  The  next  day  a  letter  informed  her 
that  his  decease  had  occurred  at  seven  o'clock — that  is  to 
say,  at  the  very  moment  when  the  voice  had  called  her. 

"Bbeaud. 
"Jarnac." 

Letter  377. 
346 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

XXVIII.  ''  For  fourteen  years  I  was  devoted  to  one  par- 
ticular person,  and  then  a  separation  took  place,  and  we  saw 
each  other  only  at  rare  intervals.  At  last  more  than  a  year 
passed  without  our  meeting.  My  friend,  being  ill,  was 
obliged  to  set  out  for  the  Tyrol.  We  were  then  separated  by 
a  distance  of  fifty-eight  hours  of  railway  journey.  I  had 
news  of  my  friend  indirectly.  The  news  was  comparatively 
good,  and  plans  for  his  return  were  expected.  On  the  2d  of 
March,  in  the  night,  I  saw  my  friend  while  I  was  half  asleep. 
He  was  seated  on  a  bed,  in  his  night-dress,  and  he  said  to 
me,  '  Oh,  how  I  suffer  !'  It  was  then  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  Two  days  afterwards  a  telegram  informed  me  of 
the  death  of  this  person,  who  had  expired  at  twenty  minutes 
past  two. 

"I  was,  and  I  am  still,  struck  by  this  coincidence,  and  it 
seemed  to  me  of  sufficient  importance  to  your  researches  to 
be  communicated  to  you.  C.  Couesnois". 

"33  Strada  Romana,  Jassy  (Roumania)." 
Letter  397. 

XXIX.  (A)  ''My  wife's  uncle,  a  sea  captain,  has  often  told 
me  that  on  the  night  which  coincided  with  the  death  of  his 
mother,  which  occurred  while  he  was  on  a  voyage,  she  ap- 
peared to  him  in  a  dream  with  a  mournful  face.  Being  much 
impressed,  he  made  a  note  of  the  date  on  the  head-board  of 
his  berth,  for  he  had  a  presentiment  of  misfortune.  He 
was  very  little  surprised  to  hear  of  her  death  when  he 
landed.  The  date  was  exactly  that  which  he  had  written  on 
his  berth. 

(B)  ''  The  same  thing  happened  to  my  mother-in-law  upon 
the  death  of  her  brother.  She  dreamed  the  preceding  night 
that  she  met  her  mother,  who  was  dead,  on  the  staircase  of 
her  house,  and  that  although  her  mother  addressed  no  word 
to  her  she  looked  at  her  with  an  air  of  great  sadness.  The 
next  day  her  brother  was  found  dead  of  apoplexy. 

(C)  ''An  almost  similar  occurrence  took  place  upon  my  own 
marriage-day.  My  mother-in-law  had  been  much  affected 
by  the  apparition  of  her  mother,  which  I  have  just  related, 
and  she  said  to  one  of  her  friends  that  if  she  ever  saw  hei 

347 


THE    UNKNOWN 

mother  again  in  this  manner  she  should  be  sure  that  she  was 

on  the  eve  of  a  great  misfortune.     This  friend,  some  days 

before  my  marriage,  saw  in  a  dream  the  same  person,  who 

told  her  that  she  did  not  wish  to  see  her  daughter,  for  fear 

of  making  her  ill,  and,  therefore,  she  had  come  to  see  her 

instead.     This    same    person  dreamed,   I  believe  the   same 

night,  that  my  wife's  house  was  draped  in  black  on  the  very 

day  of  our  marriage.     That  is  exactly  what  occurred,  though 

we  had  no  presentiment  of  it  on  the  day  before  the  day  fixed 

for  our  wedding.     My  brother-in-law  died  of  the  rupture  of 

an  aneurism,  and  he  was  buried  on  the  day  when  we  should 

have  been  married. 

''  These  are  facts  whose  authenticity  I  can  guarantee  to 

you.  L.  Contact. 

"  La  Ciotat." 

Letter  401. 

XXXII.  '^  My  father,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  I  believe,  was 
being  educated  at  the  little  seminary  of  Guerande.  One 
night,  in  a  dream,  he  saw  his  mother  lying  down,  and  giving 
no  sign  of  life,  in  her  own  room  at  Croisic,  where  she  lived. 
He  awoke  with  his  face  bathed  in  tears. 

''  The  next  day  a  letter  informed  him  that  his  mother,  at 
the  hour  at  which  he  had  thus  seen  her,  had  had  a  sudden 
seizure,  and  had  come  within  an  ace  of  dying,  surrounded  by 
her  daughters,  who  had  been  summoned  by  her  groans.  This 
occurrence  is,  as  you  see,  somewhat  different  from  the  obser- 
vations which  you  have  published,  since  it  relates  to  a  dream 
and  not  to  a  death.  But  it  is  undoubtedly  a  fact  of  the 
psychic  order,  and  that  is  why  I  have  thought  it  best  to  ac- 
quaint you  with  it.  Poluec. 

"Pi  Vermel." 

Letter  434. 

XXXIII.  '^  One  of  your  readers  dreamed  that  she  found 
herself  one  night  in  the  house  of  one  of  her  friends  who 
had  been  ill  for  a  long  time  with  lung  trouble.  She  was, 
however,  not  aware  that  her  friend  was  at  that  moment  more 
unwell  than  usual.  The  friend  was  in  bed ;  she  held  out  her 
hand  to  her,  said  farewell,  and  died  in  her  arms.     The  next 

348 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

day  the  person  of  whom  I  speak  said  to  her  mother  :  '  So- 
and-so  is  dead  ;  I  saw  her  dead  last  night.'  During  the  day 
they  learned  of  the  sick  woman's  death. 

*'As  the  vision  occurred  during  a  dream,  it  was  not  pos- 
sible to  certify  that  the  hour  of  the  death  coincided  with 
that  of  the  apparition.  Jean  Surya. 

"37  Rue  Raynouard,  Paris." 

Letter  438. 

XXXIV.  ''  I  am  only  twenty-two  years  of  age,  yet  I  have 
already  experienced  the  phenomena  in  dreams,  with  the  co- 
incidence of  death,  which  you  are  studying. 

(A)  *^  The  first  time  was  five  years  ago.  I  woke  up  laugh- 
ing, and  I  told  my  sister  how  I  had  just  dreamed  of  Father 
So-and-so  (a  surly  old  man  with  whom  my  family  had  quar- 
relled). I  do  not  now  remember  what  were  the  circumstances 
of  the  dream,  but  I  was  much  impressed  by  it. 

*'  The  same  day  we  learned  that  the  old  man  had  com- 
mitted suicide. 

(B)  ^^  The  second  time  was  a  year  later.  One  of  my  cous- 
ins, who  was  a  widower,  lived  in  the  same  town,  but  I  saw 
him  very  rarely.  I  dreamed  that  I  learned  of  his  desire  to 
marry  again  (a  fact  of  which  I  was  entirely  ignorant).  I 
related  this  dream  to  my  family  the  next  morning,  and  tow- 
ards ten  o'clock  we  met  an  aunt  of  this  young  man,  who 
informed  us  of  his  unexpected  death  during  the  night,  after 
an  illness  of  only  three  days,  and  lamented  that  his  untimely 
death  had  prevented  his  executing  Ms  project  of  giving  a 
mother  to  his  orphan  children. 

(C)  "  The  third  time  was  one  year  ago.  I  had  the  influ- 
enza, and  several  other  persons  in  the  house  were  ill.  One 
night  I  dreamed  that  a  funeral  set  out  from  our  door,  and 
that  the  coffin  was  of  enormous  size.  My  intuition  told  me 
that  it  was  M.  Durand,  one  of  the  persons  who  was  ill,  and 
who  was  unusually  corpulent.  On  awakening,  my  first  words 
were  to  ask  news  of  him,  and  I  was  painfully  affected  on 
learning  that  he  had  died  during  the  night. 

"  Jean]S^e  About. 
"Nancy."  Letter  441. 

349 


THE    UNKNOWN 

XXXVII.  "  One  of  my  friends  had  a  dream  during  the 
night,  in  which  she  saw  one  of  her  brothers,  whom  she 
tenderly  loved,  and  whom  she  had  not  seen  for  a  long  time ; 
he  was  dressed  in  white,  he  had  a  fresh  complexion,  and  he 
seemed  happy  ;  the  room  in  which  she  found  him  was  also 
hung  with  white,  and  was  filled  with  people  ;  the  brother 
and  sister  embraced  each  other  affectionately.  When  her 
dream  was  ended,  my  friend  awoke,  and  had  a  presentiment 
that  her  brother  was  dead.  At  that  moment  it  struck  mid- 
night. The  next  day  this  lady  learned  by  letter  that  her 
brother  had  died  that  night,  exactly  at  midnight.        Gr.  P. 

"Aries." 

Letter  450. 

XXXVIII.  ''  In  the  month  of  July,  1890,  I  had  a  dream 
in  which  I  wished  to  open  a  communicating  door  between 
my  room  and  another,  and  I  could  not  succeed,  in  spite  of 
vigorous  efforts;  some  one  then  came  to  my  assistance,  and 
by  using  another  door  not  far  from  the  first,  we  succeeded  in 
moving  away  the  obstacle.  It  was  the  corpse  of  my  uncle, 
stretched  out  upon  the  ground  with  his  knees  flexed. 

'^  I  did  not  attach  any  importance  to  my  dream,  but  it  re- 
curred to  my  memory  when  I  learned  of  the  sudden  death  of 
this  relative,  which  occurred  in  the  country  on  the  10th  of 
July,  1890. 

''Unfortunately,  I  did  not  note  the  date  of  this  dream,  but 

I  think  I  can  state  positively  that  if  it  did  not  occur  upon 

the  10th,  which  was  Thursday,  it  did  so  during  the  first  days 

of  the  same  week.  J.  C. 

"Lyons." 

Letter  466. 

XXXIX.  ''  At  the  close  of  the  year  1838  I  was  ill  at 
Carthagena.  On  Christmas  night  I  had  a  painful  dream,  the 
recital  of  which  I  will  abridge.  I  was  at  the  market-town  of 
Reze-les-Nantes,  watching  the  approach  of  the  funeral  pro- 
cession of  a  young  girl.  I  did  not  know  either  the  name  or 
the  family  of  the  deceased,  but,  notwithstanding,  I  found 
myself  overpowered  by  a  great  sadness.     I  joined  the  proces- 

350 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

sion;  in  the  church  I  occupied  a  place  just  behind  the  coffin, 
without  regarding  the  persons  who  were  near  me.  I  was  in 
tears,  when  I  heard  a  voice  say  to  me:  'Here  lies  your  best 
friend/  In  the  cemetery  there  was  a  terrible  storm  and  a 
deluge  of  rain.  I  woke  up,  believing  that  I  had  heard  thunder. 

"  Upon  returning  to  my  family,  I  learned  that  a  near  rela- 
tive, who  was  the  same  age  as  myself  (fifteen  years  old),  and 
who  had  been  the  friend  of  my  childhood,  had  died  on  Christ- 
mas night.  E.  Orieux. 

"N^^t^s-"  Letter  468. 

XL.  ^'  My  uncle  was  a  sea-captain.  He  was  returning  to 
France  after  an  absence  of  several  months.  One  very  hot 
afternoon  he  was  in  his  cabin,  noting  some  observations  on 
the  ship's  log.  He  went  to  sleep,  and  dreamed  that  he  saw 
his  mother  seated,  and  having  over  her  knees  a  blood-stained 
cloth  upon  which  rested  his  brother's  head.  He  woke  up,  very 
painfully  affected,  and  attempted  to  resume  his  notes,  but  he 
went  to  sleep  again  and  had  the  same  dream.  When  he 
awoke,  being  impressed  with  the  occurrence  of  the  two 
dreams,  he  made  a  note  of  them  in  his  ship's  log-book  with 
the  date  and  the  hour. 

'^  The  arrival  of  his  ship  was  signalled  at  the  port  of  Mar- 
seilles, and  a  friend  came  on  board  in  search  of  him,  who 
said :  '  I  will  accompany  you  home.'  My  uncle  went  to  the 
owners,  and  meanwhile  the  friend  caused  the  ship  to  be  put 
in  mourning.  When  my  uncle  quitted  his  owners  he  was 
startled  at  this  sight,  and  cried:  'My  brother  is  dead!' 
'  Yes,'  answered  his  friend,  '  but  how  did  5^ou  know  it?'  Then 
my  uncle  related  the  dream  which  he  had  had  at  sea.  His 
brother  had  committed  suicide  on  the  day  noted  in  the  log. 

"  J.  S. 
•*  Marseilles." 

Letter  476. 

XLI.  "  I  knew  some  one  who  had  a  most  startling  experi- 
ence, due  to  the  apparition  of  a  friend  whom  she  loved  very 
much.  The  next  day  a  despatch  arrived  announcing  her 
friend's  death.     She  received  a  letter  later,  informing  her 

351 


THE    UNKNOWN 

that  the  friend,  when  dying,  had  uttered  exactly  the  same 
words  which  she  had  heard  in  her  dream. 

''Jeanne  Delamain. 

"Jarnac,  Charente." 

Letter  513. 

XLII.   ''  Some  months  ago  I  was  warned  in  a  dream  of  the 

death  of  one  of  my  acquaintances,  on  the  very  night  upon 

which  the  death  occurred,  without  any  expectation  of   it. 

Next  morning  I  mentioned  the  dream  to  a  friend.      When 

shfe  went  home  she  found  a  telegram,  telling  her  that  the 

death  had  occurred  during  the  night.  H.  Bardel. 

"Yverdon,  Switzerland." 

Letter  515. 

XLIII.  "  I  saw,  in  a  dream,  on  the  night  of  the  8th  to 
the  9th  of  July,  1895,  the  apparition  of  my  grandmother. 
The  latter  died  on  the  9th  of  July,  at  eight  o'clock.  I  was 
seventy-five  miles  from  the  place  where  the  death  took  place. 

"  Allier, 
School- master  at  Florae,  Loz^re." 
Letter  518. 

XLIV.  "  Quite  recently,  when  I  was  at  the  house  of  some 
acquaintances,  I  met  a  lady  who  had  seen  you  in  Paris.  We 
spoke  of  you  and  of  your  wonderful  investigations,  and  one  of 
the  persons  present  said  to  me :  '  Oh,  if  you  knew  what 
a  strange  dream  I  had  last  night.  .  .  .  You  remember 
Gabrielle  T. ?'  I  answered  in  the  affirmative.  'Well,  I 
dreamed  that  she  was  dead,  and  that  I  saw  her  lying  in  her 
coffin !  .  .  .  This  morning  I  went  out  to  take  a  walk,  and 
the  person  to  whose  house  I  went  said  to  me,  "  Do  you  know 
that  Mile.  T.  is  dead?  I  have  just  this  minute  heard  of  it." 
The  strange  coincidence  between  my  dream  and  this  news 
struck  me  so  forcibly  that  I  was  completely  overpowered,  for 
I  had  not  known  Mile.  T.  particularly  well.  I  was  not  aware 
of  her  illness,  and  I  had  not  spoken  of  her  for  some  time.' 

"  This  is  the  curious  fact  which  I  have  just  heard.  In 
case  you  wish  to  quote  it,  I  should  be  obliged  if  you  would 
only  use  my  initials.  J.  A. 

"Bourges."  Letter  534. 

352 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

XLV.  '*  I  was  very  much  in  love  with  a  respectable  young 
girl  of  very  good  family.     She  felt  ill. 

"One  evening,  towards  nine  o'clock,  I  was  half  asleep,  and 
I  saw  myself  in  a  great  hall  where  every  one  was  dancing. 
My  beloved  one  was  present,  dressed  in  white,  with  a  face  at 
once  pale  and  sad.  I  approached  her  and  asked  her  to  dance. 
She  refused  me  with  abruptness,  saying  to  me  in  a  low  tone  : 
'  It  is  impossible;  we  should  be  seen.' 

"I  woke  up  with  a  strong  palpitation  of  the  heart,  and 
with  my  eyes  full  of  tears.  When  morning  came  I  dressed 
in  haste  and  rushed  to  the  sick  girFs  house.  In  the  street  I 
met  the  servant  from  that  house,  who  told  me  that  she  had 
died  during  the  night.  M.  T. 

"Constantinople."  Letter  535. 

XLVI.  '*  My  father  had  an  early  friend.  General  Charpen- 
tier  de  Cossigny,  who  always  showed  me  a  great  deal  of  af- 
fection. As  he  was  affected  by  a  nervous  malady,  which  ren- 
dered his  temper  somewhat  uncertain,  we  were  never  aston- 
ished if  he  made  us  sometimes  three  or  four  visits  in  rapid 
succession,  and  then  remained  away  for  months.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1892  (when  we  had  not  seen  the  general  for  almost  three 
months),  I  went  to  bed  early,  as  I  was  suffering  from  a  se- 
vere headache.  I  had  been  in  bed  for  a  long  time,  and  I  was 
beginning  to  go  to  sleep,  when  I  heard  my  name  pronounced, 
at  first  in  a  low  voice,  and  then  a  little  louder.  I  listened, 
thinking  it  was  my  father  calling  me;  but  I  heard  him 
sleeping  in  the  next  room,  and  his  breathing  was  very  even, 
like  that  of  one  who  has  been  asleep  a  long  time.  I  com- 
posed myself  again,  and  I  had  a  dream.  I  saw  the  staircase 
of  the  house  where  the  general  lived  (No.  7  Cite  Veneaw). 
He  appeared  to  me  like  himself,  leaning  on  the  balustrade  of 
the  landing-place  on  the  first  story ;  then  he  descended  and 
came  up  to  me  and  kissed  me  on  the  forehead.  His  lips 
were  so  cold  that  the  contact  woke  me.  I  then  saw  distinct- 
ly, in  the  midst  of  my  chamber,  illumed  by  the  reflection 
from  the  gas  in  the  street,  the  silhouette  of  the  general,  tall 
and  distinct,  which  then  withdrew.  I  did  not  go  to  sleep, 
z  353 


THE    UNKNOWN 

for  I  heard  eleven  o'clock  strike  at  the  Lycee  Henri  IV.,  and  I 
counted  the  strokes.  I  could  not  go  to  sleep  again,  and  the 
icy  impression  of  my  old  friend's  lips  remained  on  my  fore- 
head all  night.  In  the  morning  my  first  words  to  my  mother 
were  :  '  We  shall  hear  news  of  General  de  Cossigny ;  I  saw 
him  during  the  night.' 

'^  Some  minutes  afterwards  my  father  found  the  announce- 
ment of  his  old  comrade's  death  in  the  newspaper;  it  had 
happened  the  evening  before,  as  the  result  of  a  fall  down- 
stairs. Jean  Drenilhe. 

"36  Rue  des  Boulangers,  Paris." 

Letter  453. 

XLVII.  '^  One  night  when  I  was  asleep  I  saw  my  brother, 
who  was  at  Algiers,  suffering  and  dying. 

"  The  impression  which  I  experienced  was  so  vivid  that  I 
woke  up  suddenly.  It  must  have  been  about  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning. 

^^My  brother  had  not  been  well  for  about  two  years,  but  I 
did  not  attach  any  importance  to  this  dream,  knowing  that 
his  state  of  health  Vi^as  reasonably  good,  since  he  had  sent  me 
news  of  himself  some  days  previously. 

"  In  the  morning  I  received  a  telegram,  informing  me  that 
he  had  died  at  six  o'clock  that  morning. 

*^  I  have  never  spoken  of  this  to  any  one,  attributing  the 
fact  to  pure  coincidence,  and  I  should  certainly  not  have 
spoken  of  it  now  to  you  if  it  were  not  that  it  bears  witness  to 

the  scientific  statistics  which  you  desire. 

''  Lehembre, 
"Interpreter  to  the  Tribunal  at  Sousse,  Tunis." 
Letter  552. 

XLVIII.  ''It  was  during  the  great  war  of  1870-71,  my 
fiajice  was  a  soldier  in  the  Army  of  the  Khine — if  I  do  not 
mistake — and  for  a  long  time  we  had  had  no  news  of  him. 
During  the  night  of  the  23d  of  August,  1870,  I  had  a  singu- 
lar dream  which  tormented  me,  but  to  which  I  did  not  at- 
tach great  importance.  I  found  myself  in  a  hospital  ward,  in 
the  midst  of  which  was  a  kind  of  table  on  which  my  fianci 

354 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

was  lying.  His  right  arm  was  bare,  and  a  severe  wound  could 
be  seen  near  the  right  shoulder ;  two  physicians,  a  Sister  of 
CHarity,  and  myself  were  near  him.  All  at  once  he  looked 
at  me  with  his  large  eyes,  and  said  to  me  :  *  Do  you  still  love 
me  ?'  Some  days  later  I  learned  from  the  mother  of  my 
fiance  that  he  had  been  mortally  wounded  in  the  right  shoul- 
der at  Gravelotte,  and  that  he  had  died  on  the  23d  of  August, 
1870.  A  Sister  of  Charity  who  had  nursed  him  was  the  first 
person  to  tell  us  of  his  death.  The  impression  is  still  as  vivid 
in  my  mind  as  though  I  had  dreamed  it  only  yesterday. 

"SUZAKKE   KUBLER, 

"Teacher,  Heidelberg." 
Letter  583. 

XLIX.  ''  In  the  night  of  the  30th  of  July,  1897, 1  dreamed 
that  I  crossed  the  Place  des  Quinconces,  where  the  journey- 
men carpenters  work.  One  of  them  took  me  by  the  hand 
and  pricked  my  left  finger.  My  blood  flowed  in  abundance, 
and  I  called  for  aid. 

^^At  this  moment  I  awoke,  in  a  state  impossible  to  de- 
scribe ;  I  rose,  and  my  wife,  very  much  surprised,  asked  me 
what  I  was  doing.     The  clock  struck  three. 

"Some  minutes  afterwards  I  lay  down  again.  I  had  a 
fresh  dream,  in  which  I  saw  a  ship  sailing  on  a  canal.  At  the 
end  of  this  canal  a  boat  was  lowered  from  the  ship  and  went 
ashore.  Some  men  landed,  crossed  a  ditch,  buried  something 
in  the  ground,  and,  after  covering  it  up,  withdrew. 

**■  When  I  reached  my  office  I  told  my  companions  of  the 
two  dreams  that  I  had  had  during  the  night.  They  were  very 
much  astonished.  One  of  them  stated  that  when  blood  was 
seen  to  flow  in  a  dream  it  was  a  sign  of  misfortune  in  a 
family. 

'^  My  eldest  son  was  at  that  time  a  soldier  in  the  Eleventh 
Regiment  of  Artillery  at  Saigon,  and  having  fallen  ill  he  was 
returning  to  France. 

'*  On  the  11th  of  August  I  learned  of  my  son's  death  from 
the  commissary  of  police  in  my  quarter.  He  had  died  in  the 
Suez  Canal  on  the  31st  of  July.  Some  time  afterwards  I 
received  an  extract  from  the  register  of  deaths,  according  to 

355 


thp:  unknown 

which  my  son  had  actnally  died  on  the  31st  of  July,  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  had  been  buried  at  Port  Said. 

''U.   DUBOS, 
"Head  Commissary  of  the  Custom  House,  Bordeaux." 
Letter  587. 

L.  "When  I  was  a  medical  student,  and  was  just  on  tho 
point  of  completing  my  studies,  I  went  to  spend  the  Easter 
vacation,  1895,  with  my  family.  One  evening  (the  exact 
date  of  which  has  escaped  me)  we  went  to  bed  as  usual  ;  at 
supper  we  had  been  very  gay,  and  all  my  relations  were  in 
perfect  health.  Towards  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  had  a 
painful  dream ;  I  thought  that  my  father  was  dead  ;  I  wept 
bitterly,  and  accompanied  him  to  the  cemetery.  This  night- 
mare finished  by  waking  me  up,  and  I  can  testify  that  my 
pillow  was  wet  with  tears.  Having  no  belief  in  dreams,  and 
not  being  as  yet  initiated  into  questions  of  telepathy,  I  went 
to  sleep  again  peacefully,  thinking  that  it  was  only  a  dream. 
At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  was  still  asleep  when  my 
mother  entered  my  room  in  order  to  tell  me  to  go  and  see  my 
father  at  once,  for  he  was  paralyzed.  I  ran  to  him,  and  I 
saw  that,  in  fact,  he  could  no  longer  move  his  left  arm  and 
leg,  which  were  powerless. 

"  Knowing  that  attacks  of  paralysis  often  occur  during  the 
patient's  sleep,  and  that  they  wake  up  with  hemiplegia,  I 
suspect  that  my  father's  cerebral  hemorrhage  took  place 
about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  the  moment  when  my 
nightmare  occurred  ! 

"  My  father  is  still  living,  but  he  is  infirm. 

''Is  this  a  case  of  telepathy  ?  It  may  be  !  I  send  it  to 
you  for  what  it  is  worth.  Dr.  Durand. 

"  Saint-Pour9ain,  Allier." 

Letter  59. 

LI.  (A)  "Fifteen  years  ago  Madame  T.  C.  gave  a  garden- 
party  for  some  young  ladies  in  a  villa  situated  at  Dombali 
Dere,  on  the  Asiatic  shore  of  the  Sea  of  Marmora.  Among 
other  refreshments,  ham-sandwiches  were  served. 

Five  or  six  years  after  this  little  festival,  one  of  the  guests, 

356 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

whom  Madame  C.  scarcely  knew,  and  whom  she  had  never 
heard  of  since,  appeared  in  a  dream,  and  begged  her  to  give 
her  a  little  of  that  ham  which  she  had  eaten  at  her  garden- 
party. 

''  Madame  T.  0.  related  the  dream  to  her  husband,  and 
he  bestowed  upon  it  the  amount  of  attention  which  is  usually 
given  to  dreams.  But  what  was  Monsieur  C.'s  astonishment 
to  find,  on  reaching  his  office,  the  father  of  the  young  lady 
whom  Madame  T.  C.  had  seen  in  the  dream ;  this  gentleman 
told  him  that  his  daughter  was  dying  of  lung  disease,  and 
that  she  had  sent  to  him  to  beg  Mm  to  procure  for  her  a  little 
of  that  delicious  ham  which  she  had  tasted  at  the  garden- 
party  some  years  before  ! 

"  Monsieur  C.  gratified  the  young  girl's  desire,  and  on  his 
return  home  told  his  wife  what  had  occurred,  and  the  mat- 
ter was  then  forgotten. 

"Some  days  later  Madame  T.  C.  saw  this  same  young 
girl  again  in  a  dream,  who  asked  for  some  flowers  from  her 
garden.  When  Madame  T.  C.  awoke  she  told  the  dream  to 
her  husband,  saying :  '  I  am  sure  that  Mademoiselle  So- 
and-So  is  dead.'  And,  in  fact,  the  same  day.  Monsieur  C. 
received  the  notification  of  her  death  ;  the  young  girl  had 
died  duri7ig  the  night. 

(B)  "Madame  T.  C,  in  consequence  of  a  decision  given  in 
a  suit  for  divorce,  set  out  for  Egypt.  Her  daughter,  who 
was  fourteen  years  of  age,  w^s  placed  at  a  religious  scho- 
lastic establishment  in  Constantinople.  On  the  18th  of 
March,  1880,  Madame  T.  C.  was  seated  on  her  balcony  in 
Alexandria.  It  was  after  sunset,  just  at  the  time  when  it 
begins  to  grow  dark.  All  at  once  she  heard  the  rustle  of  a 
silk  train  in  the  hall  behind  her.  She  turned  and  saw  the 
shape  of  a  young  girl  dressed  in  white,  and  resembling  her 
daughter,  who  crossed  the  hall  and  vanished. 

"  Some  days  afterwards,  a  friend  came  to  make  Madame 
T.  C.  a  visit.  He  was  the  bearer  of  news  from  Constanti- 
nople. This  friend  had  no  sooner  pronounced  the  name  of 
her  daughter  than  Madame  T.  C.  stopped  him,  saying  :  '  My 
daughter  is  dead  ;  I  know  it ;  she  died  on  the  18th  of  March, 

357 


THE    UNKNOWN 

towards  five  o'clock  in  the   evening.'     A  letter   gave   the 
day  and  hour  of  her  decease ;  it  was  exactly  that  of  the  ap- 
parition. Alpouroni. 
"Constanlinople."                     Letter  524. 

LIIL  (A)  '^On  the  night  of  the  23d  of  March,  1884,  I 
dreamed  that  one  of  my  friends  played  a  game  of  chess  with 
Dr.  D.,  very  informally,  at  my  honse.  I  noticed  that  she 
had  on  a  thick  black  veil,  and  I  said  to  her  :  '  If  you  keep 
on  that  veil  you  will  lose.'  '  I  do  it  lecause  I  am  dead.  LoohT 
she  said.  She  raised  her  crepe  veil,  and  I  saw  a  death's-head 
without  teeth  and  with  hollow  eye-sockets  ! !  ! 

''It  was  horrible.  This  friend  was  forty-nine  years  of 
age  and  in  perfect  health.  She  had  been  at  my  house  for  a 
week,  and  only  left  me  on  account  of  the  Easter  vacation. 
She  was  to  return  to  Paris  and  join  her  son,  who  was  at  col- 
lege, and  then  return  with  him  to  complete  her  little  holi- 
day at  my  house.  The  room  which  she  had  occupied  had  re- 
mained as  she  had  left  it,  expecting  her  return.  There  was 
no  reason  for  expecting  her  death,  and,  nevertheless,  the 
very  morning  after  this  fearful  dream,  which  I  related  in  great 
grief  to  the  doctor,  the  postman  brought  me  a  telegram  thus 
worded  :  'Come  quickly.     Marie  died  during  the  night.' 

(B)  "The  same  thing  happened  in  regard  to  the  death  of 
my  father,  who  was  seventy-nine  years  old.  He  left  us  in 
good  health,  and  we  were  astonished  at  his  activity.  .  .  . 
During  the  night  of  the  17tli  of  October,  1879,  I  dreamed 
that  the  moat  in  the  garden  had  been  changed.  They  had 
put  flowers  there,  and  the  earth  had  been  raised.  I  ap- 
proached it,  I  leaned  over  it,  I  looked  ...  I  gave  a  cry ! 
for  I  perceived  my  son's  coffin  !  A  telegram  came  the  same 
morning:  'Your  father  died  last  night.  .  .  .'  And  his  re- 
mains are  now  placed  in  the  same  tomb  near  those  of  my 
beloved  child.  Madame  H.  D. 

"  Rue  du  Coedic,  Paris." 

Letter  599. 

LV.  "  One  morning  at  nine  o'clock  my  husband  had  gone 
out  to  attend  to  his  business  affairs,  and   I  went  to  sleep 

358 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

again  for  a  few  minutes.  In  the  brief  space  of  time  that  my 
sleep  lasted  I  had  a  dream  that  affected  me  profoundly.  I 
dreamed  that  I  had  gone  out  in  company  with  my  husband. 
He  left  me  for  a  few  moments  in  order  to  talk  with  some  one 
in  an  entry,  and  I  remained  outside  to  wait  for  him.  Some 
minutes  after  I  saw  him  come  in  very  pale,  and  holding  his  left 
hand  pressed  against  his  heart.  I  asked  him  anxiously  what 
was  the  matter,  and  he  answered  me  :  'Do not  be  frightened, 
it  is  nothing.  As  I  was  coming  out  of  the  gateway  some 
one  shot  me  with  a  revolver,  by  accident,  I  suppose ;  but  the 
wound  is  only  a  slight  one  in  the  hand.' 

''I  woke  suddenly.  I  sprang  up,  and  while  dressing  my- 
self I  related  the  dream  to  my  maid.  While  I  was  speak- 
ing, a  violent  ring  at  the  bell  made  me  tremble.  My  hus- 
band came  into  my  room,  pale  as  I  had  seen  him  in  my 
dream,  and  holding  out  his  left  hand,  which  was  wrapped 
up,  he  said :  '  Do  not  be  alarmed ;  it  is  nothing.  While  I 
was  walking  to  my  office  with  a  friend  some  one  shot  me 
with  a  revolver,  but  the  ball,  passing  under  my  arm,  has  only 
given  me  a  slight  wound  in  the  thumb.'  Was  this  dream  a 
vision  or  was  it  a  case  of  telepathy  ? 

'^  Madame  Kranskoft. 

"  Constantinople." 

Letter  606. 

LVI.  ''In  1866  I  was  in  a  pensionnat  situated  in  a  little 
place  in  the  Black  Forest.  One  morning,  just  as  the  professor 
was  about  to  begin  his  lesson,  a  pupil  presented  himself  before 
him  and  asked  if  he  had  good  news  of  his  brother  (who  was 
also  a  professor  in  the  same  pensionnat,  and  who  had  been 
for  some  time  on  a  visit  with  his  family  in  Switzerland). 

''  The  professor  answered  that  he  had  had  no  news  of  him, 
and  then  the  pupil  related,  in  a  raised  voice,  that  he  himself 
had  had  a  terrible  dream  during  the  preceding  night,  and 
during  his  dream  he  had  seen  the  absent  professor  stretched 
on  the  grass  with  a  black  hole  in  the  middle  of  his  fore- 
head. 

"After  soothing  the  emotion  which  was  naturally  felt  by 
all  those  who  heard  this  recital,  the  master  at  once  began 

359 


THE    UNKNOWN 

his  lesson,  and  nothing  further  was  heard  of  the  dream  that 
day. 

"  The  next  day,  or  the  day  after  (my  memory  is  undecided 
as  to  the  exact  date),  the  professor  received  a  letter  telling 
him  that  his  brother  had  died  from  an  accident  in  hunting  : 
his  gun  discharged  itself  while  he  was  trying  to  cross  a  ditch, 
and  the  entire  load  had  entered  his  head.  A.  H. 

"Geneva."  Letter  611. 

LVII.  "  My  mother  lived  at  Lille,  and  she  had  an  uncle  in 
Alsace,  whom  she  loved  very  deeply.  This  uncle  had  long 
and  very  delicate  fingers.  Now,  one  day  when  my  mother 
was  asleep,  she  saw,  in  a  dream,  this  long  hand  moving  slow- 
ly above  her,  endeavoring  to  grasp  some  object.  The  next 
day  my  mother  received  news  of  the  death  of  her  uncle,  and, 
as  she  afterwards  learned  from  those  who  had  been  with  him, 
he  had  made  all  the  movements  seen  by  my  mother  just  be- 
fore he  died.  A.  P. 

"  Rue  des  Plantes  (Paris)."        better  616. 

LVIII.  "  It  has  often  happened  to  me  to  experience  a 
striking  coincidence  between  my  dreams  and  events  which 
occurred  at  the  same  time. 

^*  I  will  permit  myself  to  give  you  the  last  of  these,  which 
is  that  most  present  in  my  thoughts,  as  an  example. 

'^  All  night  I  dreamed  of  a  nun  who  had  formerly  been  my 
teacher. 

''I  saw  her  very  ill ;  I  was  deeply  pained  at  doing  so,  and 
I  sought  to  relieve  her,  but  in  vain. 

*^The  next  day  I  learned  that  the  sisters  of  the  parish 
school  were  at  Mirecourt  in  order  to  assist  at  the  obsequies 
of  one  of  their  number. 

*' Still  under  the  impression  of  my  dream,  I  said  at  once, 
'It  is  Sister  Saint- Joseph.' 

"  And  it  was  indeed  she. 

"  Yet  I  had  not  thought  of  her  in  the  days  preceding  my 
dream  ;  nobody  had  spoken  of  her  to  me,  and  I  had  not  been 
aware  that  she  was  ill.  Gr.  Collin". 

"Vittel."  Letter  631. 

360 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

LIX.  ^at  was  the  13th  of  June,  1894.  I  lived  at  that 
time  at  Barbezieux  (Charente).  I  had  a  dream  in  which  I 
saw  repeatedly  one  of  the  employes  of  the  post  and  tele- 
graphic service  bringing  a  telegram.  The  next  day,  in  spite 
of  my  occupations,  the  vision  of  this  employe  with  the  blue 
paper  in  his  hand  never  left  my  thoughts. 

"During  seven  consecutive  days  and  nights  this  night- 
mare possessed  me  to  such  an  extent  that  on  the  morning  of 
the  20th  I  was  really  ill.  At  noon,  on  this  same  day,  my  dis- 
comfort disappeared  as  if  by  magic,  and  I  was  perfectly 
happy ;  but  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  I  received  news 
of  the  death  of  my  father,  who  died  of  an  attack  of  apo- 
plexy, at  Castillon-sur-Dordogne,  at  noon — the  hour  at  which 
I  had  suddenly  found  myself  relieved. 

"I  then  saw  before  me  the  employe  of  the  post,  as  my 
imagination  had  represented  him,  and  as  I  had  never  really 
seen  him. 

"I  was  entirely  ignorant  that  my  father  was  ill,  and  we 
were  separated  by  a  distance  of  about  sixty  miles. 

"Ulysse  Lacoste. 

"Cours  Saint-Louis,  48,  Bordeaux." 

Letter  649. 

LX.  "'I  am  in  good  health,  and  I  have  strong  nerves.  In 
1894,  on  the  20th  of  April,  at  half  -  past  seven  o'clock,  my 
mother,  Olga  Nikadlevna  Arbousova,  died.  She  was  fifty- 
eight  years  of  age.  The  day  before  her  death,  which  oc- 
curred at  Easter,  I  had  gone  to  see  one  of  my  friends  who 
lived  about  fifteen  verstes  from  my  property.  It  was  the  cus- 
tom to  remain  all  night,  but  I,  influenced  by  I  do  not  know 
what  presentiment,  refused  to  do  so,  and  while  I  was  return- 
ing I  was  not  in  my  natural  state.  When  I  got  back,  I  saw 
my  mother  playing  cards  with  a  gentleman,  and  I  was  calmed. 
I  went  to  bed.  The  next  morning,  the  20th  of  April,  I  woke 
up,  with  an  icy  shuddering  all  over  my  body,  from  a  terrible 
dream,  and  I  looked  at  the  clock ;  it  was  half-past  seven  in 
the  morning.  I  had  seen  my  mother  approach  my  bed,  em- 
brace me,  and  say,  'Farewell;  I  am  dying!'  These  words 
had  completely  roused  me. 

361 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"I  conld  not  go  to  sleep  again.  Ten  minutes  afterwards 
I  saw  every  one  running  towards  my  house.  My  servant  en- 
tered my  room,  saying,  '  Master,  madame  is  dead  !' 

"According  to  the  servant's  story,  my  mother  had  risen 

at  seven  o'clock,  had  gone  to  her  grand-daughter's  room  in 

order  to  embrace  her,  and  had  then  gone  back  to  her  room 

in  order  to  read  her  morning  prayers  ;  then  she  knelt  down 

before  her  icons,  and  expired  at  once  of  aneurism.     From 

what  I  was  told,  this  must  have  occurred  at  half-past  seven  in 

the  morning — exactly  the  moment  of  my  vision. 

"Alexis  Arbousoff. 
"Pskoff  (Russia)." 

Letter  670. 

LXI.  "In  1881  I  had  left  France  to  go  to  Sumatra,  where 
my  friends  summoned  me.  I  left  behind  in  France  my 
mother,  who  was  in  rather  feeble  health,  though  not  seriously 
unwell,  and  a  sister,  twenty  years  of  age,  who  was  far  gone  in 
an  incurable  disease.  The  health  of  the  latter  required  each 
year  a  journey  to  the  springs  at  Mont  Dore.  At  the  same 
time  each  year  I  received  regularly  the  news  of  their  de- 
parture for  that  place. 

"In  1884,  during  the  night  of  the  13th  of  August,  I 
had  a  dream  in  which  I  received  a  letter  from  my  sister,  in- 
forming me  that  my  mother  had  died  suddenly  in  the  Pyrenees. 

"I  awoke,  much  affected  by  this  dream,  and  I  spoke  of  it 
to  two  Europeans,  one  of  whom  was  living  with  me,  and  the 
other  in  my  immediate  neighborhood.  The  recollection  of  it 
pursued  me  ceaselessly ;  it  was  a  real  possession,  making  me 
both  desire  and  dread  the  arrival  of  the  mail  which  might 
bring  me  tidings  coinciding  with  this  dream.  At  last  it  ar- 
rived, and  I  received  a  letter  from  my  sister,  informing  me 
that  the  physician  had  sent  her  to  Luchon,  and  that  my 
mother  had  been  attacked  by  a  chill  which  had  endangered 
her  life  so  that  it  had  only  been  saved  by  the  energetic  care  of 
the  doctor.  On  the  evening  of  the  13th  of  August  the  latter 
had  declared  that  if  my  mother  lived  till  the  next  day  he 
could  answer  for  her  recovery,  but  that  he  must  wait  until  the 
next  day  before  he  felt  sure. 

362 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

''  My  dream  was  not  exactly  according  to  his  statement ;  for 
it  showed  the  death  of  my  mother. 

'*  But  none  the  less,  it  is  remarkable  : 

"  (1)  That  the  dream  concerned  a  danger  to  my  mother, 
and  not  my  sister,  whose  health  preoccupied  my  mind  much 

more. 

''(2)  That  the  dream  had  relation  to  another  watering- 
place  from  that  to  which  they  generally  went,  and  this 
proved  to  be  perfectly  correct. 

^'(3)  That  although  the  dream  was  incorrect  as  regarded 
the  actual  death,  the  imminence  of  death  was  plainly 
demonstrated,  and  the  dream  coincided  with  this  threatened 
danger,  as  I  have  been  able  to  verify  by  dates,  which  I  ob- 
tained from  my  sister  in  order  to  establish  the  coincidence. 

''Is  it  not  also  remarkable  that  a  dream  can  preoccupy 
the  mind  to  such  a  point  that  it  is  still  present  in  my 
memory  after  the  lapse  of  fifteen  years  ?  I  make  this  nar- 
ration to  you  without  the  aid  of  any  notes,  and  I  think  that 
I  shall  remember  it  all  my  life,  so  ineffaceable  is  the  impres- 
sion which  it  has  made  upon  me.  Every  one  agrees  that  it 
does  not  belong  to  the  usual  order  of  dreams. 

''J.  Bouchard. 

"Mocai-a  Enim,  Palembang  (Sumatra)."    , 
Letter  678. 

LXII.  '^On  the  16th  of  June,  1870,  I  was  sleeping  pro- 
foundly when  some  one  waked  me  by  touching  me  on  the 
back.  I  opened  my  eyes  and  saw  my  sister,  who  was  fifteen 
years  of  age,  seated  on  my  bed.  '  Farewell,  Nadia,'  she  said 
to  me.     Then  she  vanished. 

''The  same  day  I  learned  that  she  was  dead,  and  that  she 

died  at  the  very  hour  when  I  had  this  awakening  and  this 

vision— five  o'clock.  H.  N.  Ubanenko. 

"  Moscow."  ^^^ 

Letter  822. 

Here  are  a  series  of  dreams  relating  to  dying  manifesta' 
tions,  which  are  entitled,  it  seems  to  us,  to  be  classed  in  the 
same  category  as  the  cases  of  telepathy  which  were  the  sub- 

363 


THE    UNKNOWN 

ject  of  Chapter  III.  They  show  a  psychic  action  of  the  dying 
person  on  the  mind  of  the  sleeper,  or,  at  any  rate,  psychic 
currents  between  human  beings;  but  I  have  thought  it 
proper  to  give  them  a  second  place  only,  because  what  is 
dreamed  is  less  reliable  than  what  is  seen  in  the  normal  state; 
and  as  dreams  are  innumerable,  and  often  due  to  preoccupa- 
tions, cases  of  fortuitous  coincidence  cannot  be  eliminated 
by  the  calculations  of  probabilities,  as  can  be  done  with  facts 
observed  in  the  waking  state  with  the  full  use  of  reason. 

Nevertheless,  a  large  number  of  these  dreams  ought  to  be 
accepted  as  positive  evidence  of  a  relation  of  cause  and  effect 
between  the  mind  of  the  dying  person  and  that  of  the  per- 
cipient. The  exactitude  of  detail  is  clearly  established, 
notably  in  cases  VIII.,  IX.,  XI.,  XVII.,  XX.,  XXVI., 
XLVIIL,  LVI.  At  the  very  time  that  I  review  these  pages, 
the  following  narrative  has  been  sent  me  by  M.  Daniel  Bey- 
lard,  architect,  a  distinguished  student  in  the  ficole  des 
Beaux  Arts,  and  son  of  the  well-known  sculptor.  The  tele- 
pathic impression  in  this  case  was  not  received  during  sleep, 
but  in  a  mental  condition  which  presents  a  certain  analogy 
with  sleep — namely  the  childish  condition  often  observed  in 
extreme  old  age  : 

LXIII.  '^  My  two  grandmothers  lived  together  at  Bordeaux 
for  a  number  of  years.  One  of  them  was  eighty-four  years 
old ;  the  other,  my  paternal  grandmother,  was  eighty-seven. 
The  latter  had  not  had  the  use  of  her  intellectual  faculties 
for  some  time  ;  for  two  years  her  memory  had  been  lost  to 
such  an  extent  that  she  no  longer  remembered  the  most  ordi- 
nary things,  and  she  no  longer  recognized  any  one. 

"  On  the  10th  of  last  October  my  grandmother  passed  the 
morning  in  her  chamber,  according  to  her  custom.  The  ser- 
vant who  took  charge  of  her  saw  that  she  was  occupied  in 
cutting  card -board  and  arranging  her  hair.  Satisfied  with 
her  tranquillity,  she  left  her  alone  until  the  hour  for  breakfast. 
When  my  grandmother  was  placed  at  table,  it  was  observed 
that  she  had  fastened  a  photograph  to  the  hair  at  the  back  of 
her  head  by  means  of  a  piece  of  thread  and  some  pins  ;  it  was 
the  portrait,  in  album  size,  of  her  only  nephew,  who  lived  in 

364 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

Madrid.  Every  one  laughed  at  it  at  first,  and  then  they  wished 
to  take  it  away  from  her.  She  opposed  this,  and  resisted ; 
when  they  attempted  to  employ  force  she  began  to  cry,  and 
they  then  let  her  alone. 

"  At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  we  re- 
ceived a  telegram  from  Madrid,  informing  us  of  the  death  of 
this  nephew,  who  had  died  that  same  morning.  This  news 
surprised  us,  and  all  the  more  because  no  one  at  Bordeaux 
knew  that  he  was  ill. 

"I  should  add  that  my  grandmother  had  brought  up  this 
nephew  from  the  age  of  five,  and  that  they  had  a  profound 
affection  for  each  other. 

''Here,  dear  master,  are  the  facts  which  occurred  in  my 
presence,  and  to  which  my  maternal  grandmother,  my  par- 
ents, and  the  servant  can  certify.  Da:n"Iel  Beylard. 

"  Rue  Denfert-Rochereau,  77,  Paris." 
Letter  845. 

I  asked  the  narrator  of  this  Very  interesting  case  of  tele- 
pathy to  ask  the  witnesses  to  be  kind  enough  to  certify  to  it, 
and  also  to  sign  it,  and  they  hastened  to  do  so. 

Although  these  testimonies  are  as  numerous  as  they  are  un- 
deniable, we  will  add  a  few  more  to  them.  There  must  be  no 
room  for  doubt. 

Marshal  Serrano  died  in  1892.  His  wife  has  written  the 
following  account  of  a  curious  incident  relating  to  his  death  : 

LXIV.  ''For  twelve  long  months  a  disease,  which  must, 
alas  !  have  been  very  grave,  slowly  destroyed  my  husband's 
life.  Being  aware  that  the  end  was  approaching  rapidly,  my 
husband's  nephew,  General  LopezsDominguez,  went  to  the 
president  of  the  Ministerial  Council,  Seflor  Canovas,  in  order 
to  obtain  permission  for  Serrano  to  be  buried,  like  the  other 
marshals,  in  a  church. 

"  The  king,  who  was  then  at  Prado,  refused  General  Lopez 
Dominguez's  request.  He  added,  however,  that  he  would 
prolong  his  stay  in  the  royal  domain,  so  that  his  presence  at 
Madrid  should  not  prevent  the  marshal's  receiving  the  mili- 

365 


THE    UNKNOWN 

tary  honors  due  to  his  rank  and  to  the  high  position  which 
he  occnpied  in  the  army. 

''  The  marshal's  sufferings  increased  every  day ;  he  could 
no  longer  lie  down,  and  remained  all  the  time  in  an  arm- 
chair. One  morning  at  dawn  he  suddenly  raised  himself 
straight  and  erect,  although  he  had  been  in  a  state  of  com- 
plete exhaustion  from  the  use  of  morphine,  and  so  complete- 
ly paralyzed  that  he  could  not  make  any  movement  without 
the  assistance  of  several  of  his  aides.  In  a  voice  more  sonor- 
ous than  he  had  ever  had  in  his  life,  he  cried  into  the  silence 
of  the  night : 

*^ '  Quick,  let  an  officer  of  ordinance  mount  and  hasten  to 
Prado  ;  the  king  is  dead  V 

''  He  fell  back  fainting  into  his  chair.  We  attributed  the 
whole  thing  to  delirium,  and  we  hastened  to  give  him  a  sedative- 

''  He  dozed,  but  some  minutes  after  he  rose  up  once  more. 
In  a  feeble  and  almost  extinct  voice  he  said  : 

^^  ^  My  uniform,  my  sword  ;  the  king  is  dead  !' 

"  This  was  his  last  conscious  act.  After  having  received 
the  last  sacraments  and  the  benediction  of  the  Pope,  he  ex- 
pired.    Alphonso  XII.  died  without  these  consolations. 

''This  sudden  vision  of  the  death  of  the  king  seen  by  the 
dying  man  was  true.  The  next  day  all  Madrid  learned  with 
stupefaction  of  the  king^s  death,  which  occurred  when  he  was 
almost  alone  at  Prado. 

"  The  royal  remains  were  carried  to  Madrid.  By  reason 
of  this,  Serrano  could  not  receive  the  honors  that  had  been 
promised  him. 

''  It  is  well  known  that  when  the  king  is  at  the  palace  at 
Madrid  no  honors  can  be  paid  except  to  him ;  even  if  he  is 
dead  his  corpse  receives  them. 

"  Did  the  king  himself  appear  to  Serrano  ?  Prado  is  at  a 
considerable  distance ;  every  one  was  asleep  at  Madrid ;  no 
one  except  my  husband  knew  of  anything  that  was  happen- 
ing.    How  did  he  receive  the  intelligence  ? 

^^  This  is  a  subject  for  thought. 

''  COMTESSE  DE  SeRRANO, 

•'  Duchess  de  la  Torre." 
366 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

M.  G.  J.  Romanes,  member  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Lon- 
don, has  communicated  the  following  experience  which  was 
related  to  him  by  one  of  his  friends  : 

LXV.  ''  During  the  night  of  the  26th  of  October,  1872,  I 
felt  suddenly  very  uncomfortable,  and  I  went  to  bed  at  half- 
past  nine,  about  an  hour  earlier  than  usual ;  I  went  to  sleep 
almost  immediately.  I  had  then  a  very  intense  dream,  which 
made  a  great  impression  upon  me,  so  much  so  that  I  spoke 
to  my  wife  about  it  when  I  awoke.  I  feared  that  it  presaged 
some  misfortune. 

"  I  imagined  that  I  was  seated  in  the  drawing-room  near  a 
table,  about  to  read,  when  an  old  lady  suddenly  appeared 
seated  on  the  other  side,  very  near  the  table.  She  did  not 
speak  nor  move,  but  she  looked  at  me  fixedly,  and  I  looked 
at  her  in  the  same  way  for  at  least  twenty  minutes.  I  was 
very  much  struck  with  her  appearance ;  she  had  white  hair, 
with  very  black  eyebrows,  and  a  penetrating  expression.  I 
did  not  recognize  her  all  at  once,  and  I  thought  she  was  a 
stranger.  My  attention  was  attracted  in  the  direction  of  the 
door,  which  opened,  and  (still  in  my  dream)  my  aunt  en- 
tered. Upon  seeing  this  old  lady  she  cried  out  with  great 
surprise,  and  in  a  tone  of  reproach,  'John,  do  you  not 
know  who  that  is  ?'  and  without  leaving  me  time  to  answer 
she  added,  'It  is  your  grandmother.^ 

''  Thereupon  the  spirit,  which  had  come  to  visit  me,  rose 
from  her  chair  and  vanished.  At  that  moment  I  awoke. 
The  impression  made  upon  me  by  this  strange  dream  was  so 
strong  that  I  took  my  note-book  and  wrote  it  down,  being 
persuaded  that  it  was  a  forecast  of  bad  news.  Some  days 
passed,  however,  without  bringing  it.  One  evening  I  received 
a  letter  from  my  father,  telling  me  of  the  sudden  death  of 
my  grandmother,  which  had  taken  place  on  the  very  night  of 
my  dream  and  at  the  same  hour — half-past  ten."  ^ 

Dr.  Oscar  Giacchi  has  published  th^  f.brPP.  fo]]owing__c;3.sfts 
in  ^\i3^nnales  des  sciences  psychiques  (1895,  p.  302) ; 
LXVI.  '*lst  Case  (personal).  In  1853  I  wa^aTstudent 

^  Hallucinations  telepathiques,  p.  329. 
367 


at\ 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Pisa.  I  was  eighteen  years  old.  Everything  smiled  npon 
me,  and  I  was  not  troubled  by  any  cares  for  the  future. 

'^One  night,  the  19th  of  April  (I  cannot  say  certainly 
whether  it  was  in  a  dream  or  in  a  half-awake  condition),  I 
saw  my  father  stretched  on  his  bed,  pale  and  livid,  and  he 
said  to  me  in  a  half-extinguished  voice :  '  My  son,  give  me 
your  last  kiss,  for  I  am  going  soon  to  leave  you  forever.^  I 
felt  the  icy  contact  of  his  lips  on  my  mouth,  and  I  recall  this 
sad  episode  so  vividly  that  I  could  say  with  the  divine  poet : 
'  Che  la  inemoria  il  sangue  ancor  mi  scipa.' 

^^  During  the  past  few  days  I  had  received  excellent  news 
of  my  father,  and  for  that  reason  I  did  not  attach  any  impor- 
tance to  this  phantom  of  my  mind ;  but  a  terrible  anxiety 
took  possession  of  me,  and  increased  with  so  much  persist- 
ence that  the  following  night,  resisting  the  reasonings  and 
prayers  of  my  friends,  I  took  the  road  for  Florence,  as  much 
depressed  as  a  criminal  who  is  conducted  to  the  gallows.  My 
anguish  was  realized,  for  hardly  had  I  reached  the  threshold 
of  the  house  before  my  mother,  running  to  meet  me,  told  me 
with  despair,  in  the  midst  of  tears  and  kisses,  that  my  father 
had  been  carried  off  by  a  sudden  heart  attack  the  preceding 
night  at  the  very  hour  of  my  vision, 

"2d  Case  (in  my  practice).  I  have  had  here  in  my  insane 
asylum,  for  more  than  three  years,  an  old  woman  affected 
with  senile  delirium,  who  had,  however,  long  intervals  of 
tranquillity,  during  which  she  was  intelligent  and  tranquil,  so 
that  it  was  possible  to  believe  her  statements.  She  was  a 
poor  widow  who,  when  she  had  been  at  liberty,  was  generous- 
ly aided  by  the  cure  of  Saint  Jean  de  Racconigi,  who  took  pity 
on  her  poverty.  On  the  night  of  the  17th  of  November,  1893, 
this  woman,  who  usually  (when  she  was  without  excitement) 
slept  an  uninterrupted  sleep,  at  midnight  began  to  cry  out, 
to  give  way  to  despair,  and  to  alarm  the  entire  dormitory, 
not  excepting  the  Sisters  of  the  quiet  division.  She  assured 
the  nuns  who  wished  to  calm  her  that  she  had  seen  the  prior 
fall  to  the  ground,  foaming  blood  at  the  mouth,  and  die  in 
a  few  moments.  This  nocturnal  episode  was  mentioned  by 
the  doctor  on  duty,  in  his  report,  and  at  the  same  time  the 

368 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

sad  news  was  circulated  all  through  the  country  that  the 
cure  of  Saint  Jean  had  really  died  of  a  fulminating  apoplexy 
at  the  very  honr  when  the  old  woman  had  the  nightmare. 

'^3d  Case  (the  same).     A  man  named  G.  0 ,  from  Gol- 

tasecca,  in  the  commune  of  Monesiglio,  had  been  received  into 
the  sanitarium  about  two  months  before.  His  condition  was 
improved,  and  everything  promised  a  cure  with  the  prompti- 
tude which  is  seen  in  mental  diseases  without  hereditary  ele- 
ments nor  degenerative  changes.  His  physical  health  was 
perfect,  although  he  had  the  signs  of  atheroma  of  the  arte- 
ries. But  in  the  night  of  the  14th  of  September,  1892,  he  was 
seized  with  a  cerebral  hemorrhage,  which  carried  him  off 
the  next  day.  On  the  16th  I  received  a  postal-card  from  his 
wife,  who  until  then  had  kept  silence,  in  which  she  asked  with 
great  anxiety  for  news  of  her  husband,  begging  me  to  answer 
at  once,  because  she  dreaded  some  misfortune. 

*'  Such  a  coincidence  of  events  and  dates  could  not  pass 
unnoticed,  nor  could  I  feel  indifferent  in  regard  to  it.  I  then 
wrote  at  once  to  the  eminent  Dr.  Dhiavarino,  the  physician  who 
attended  this  family,  begging  him  to  investigate  into  the  rea- 
son of  this  woman's  writing  to  me  in  such  an  alarming  manner. 
The  doctor  replied  that  he  had  made  the  necessary  investiga- 
tions and  had  collected  the  following  details  :  '  In  the  night  of 
the  14th,  exactly  at  the  hour  when  C was  struck  with  apo- 
plexy, his  wife  (who  has  a  peculiarly  nervous  temperament,  and 
who  was  then  about  seven  months  ewc^e?^^e)  experienced  a  moral 
discomfort  all  through  the  evening,  and  then  woke  up  sud- 
denly in  despair  as  to  her  husband's  fate  :  so  great  was 
the  emotion  she  experienced  that  she  was  obliged  to  wake  up 
her  father  in  order  to  tell  him  her  sad  presentiment,  and  to 
conjure  him  to  accompany  her  to  Racconigi,  being  persuaded 
that  some  misfortune  had  occurred. 

''  These  three  cases  seem  to  me  worthy  of  consideration. 
To  attribute  them  solely  to  a  fortuitons  coincidence  seems  to 
me  a  despicable  scepticism,  and  it  would  be,  in  my  opinion, 
a  false  pride  to  persist  in  denying  the  action  of  a  biological 
law  because  we  are  ignorant  of  the  law  itself,  as,  unfortunate- 
ly, we  are  ignorant  of  so  many  other  mysteries  of  psychology. 


THE    UNKNOWN 

^'  The  hypothesis  of  a  mysterious  transmission  from  the 
brain  of  one  who  suffers,  or  who  is  in  great  danger,  to  the 
brain  of  some  one  beloved,  is  seductive,  for  in  a  moment  of 
supreme  peril  or  terrible  danger  thought  may  be  able  to 
overcome  danger.  In  my  second  case,  however,  and  also  in 
the  third,  this  theory  cannot  be  admitted,  for  the  reason  that 

neither  the  prior  of  Saint  Jean,  nor  G.  C ,  struck  down  on 

a  sudden  as  they  both  were  with  apoplexy,  could  have  had 
the  strength  to  think  of  absent  loved  ones  ;  and,  moreover, 
the  old  woman  could  not  have  been  beloved  by  the  acre  to 
such  an  extent  that  he  addressed  to  her  the  supreme  invoca- 
tion of  the  dying." 

I  will  note  here,  in  connection  with  this  kind  of  dream,  one 
very  remarkable  case,  observed  by  Mr.  Frederic  Wingfield, 
at  Belle-Isle-en-Terre  (Cotes  du  Nord),  already  published  in 
Les  Hallucinations  telejMthique  (p.  101). 

LXIX.  "  What  I  am  about  to  write  is  the  exact  account 
of  what  happened,  and  I  may  remark  in  this  connection  that 
I  am  very  little  disposed  towards  belief  in  the  supernatural, 
indeed,  quite  the  contrary,  for  I  have  been  accused,  with 
justice  of  an  exaggerated  scepticism  in  regard  to  things 
which  I  cannot  explain. 

"On  the  night  of  Thursday,  the  25th  of  March,  1880, 
I  went  to  bed  after  having  read  until  very  late,  according 
to  my  usual  custom.  I  dreamed  that  I  was  lying  on  my  sofa 
and  that  I  was  reading,  when,  raising  my  eyes,  I  distinctly 
saw  my  brother  Richard  Wingfield-Baker,  seated  on  a  chair 
before  me.  I  dreamed  that  I  spoke  to  him,  but  he  simply 
bowed  his  head  in  answer,  and  then  he  rose  and  left  the 
room.  When  I  awoke,  I  found  that  I  was  standing  upright, 
one  foot  placed  on  the  ground  near  my  bed  and  the  other  one 
on  my  bed,  and  that  I  tried  to  speak  and  to  pronounce  my 
brother's  name.  The  impression  that  he  was  really  present 
was  so  strong,  and  all  the  scene  that  I  had  dreamed  was  so 
vivid,  that  I  left  the  bedroom  to  look  for  my  brother  in  the 
drawing-room.  I  examined  the  chair  where  I  had  seen  him 
seated ;  I  came  back  to  my  bed,  and  I  tried  to  go  to  sleep,  be- 
cause I  hoped   that  the  apparition  would  appear  again,  but 

370 


THE    WOKLD    OF    DREAMS 

my  mind  was  too  much  excited.  I  must,  liowever,  have  gone 
to  sleep  towards  morning.  When  I  awoke,  the  impression  of 
my  dream  was  still  vivid,  and  I  should  add  that  it  has  always 
remained  so  in  my  mind.  The  sentiment  of  impending  mis- 
fortune which  I  felt  was  so  strong  that  I  made  a  note  of  the 
'apparition'  in  my  daily  journal,  adding  to  it  the  words: 
'  May  God  forbid.' 

''  Three  days  afterwards  I  received  news  that  my  brother 
Richard  Wingfield-Baker  had  died  on  Thursday  evening,  the 
25th  of  March,  1880,  at  half-past  eight  o'clock,  in  conse- 
quence of  terrible  injuries  which  he  had  received  in  an  acci- 
detit  while  hunting." 

Mr.  Wingfield  sent  with  this  letter  his  private  note-book, 
in  which,  amid  a  large  number  of  business  notes,  the  follow- 
ing statement  is  made :  "  Apparition  on  the  night  of  Thursday, 
the  25th  of  March,  1880,  R.  B.W.  B.     May  God  forbid." 

The  following  letter  was  added  to  this  note. 

"  CoAT-AN-NOS,  2d  of  February,  1884. 
''My  Deak  Friejtd,  No  effort  of  memory  is  required  in 
order  to  recall  to  me  the  fact  of  which  you  speak ;  I  have  pre- 
served the  clearest  and  most  accurate  remembrance  of  it.  I 
remember  perfectly  that  on  Sunday,  the  4th  of  April,  1880, 
I  went  to  breakfast  with  you,  having  arrived  in  Paris  that 
same  morning  with  the  intention  of  spending  several  days 
there.  I  remember  very  well  that  I  found  you  much  affected 
by  the  sad  news  which  you  had  just  received  of  the  death  of 
one  of  your  brothers.  I  also  recollect,  as  if  it  had  happened 
yesterday,  how  much  I  was  struck  by  the  fact  that  some  days 
before  receiving  the  sad  news,  after  you  had  gone  to  bed  one 
evening,  you  saw,  or  thought  you  saw,  in  any  case  most  dis- 
tinctly, the  brother  whose  sudden  death  you  had  just  heard 
of,  very  near  your  bed,  and  in  your  conviction  that  it  was  he, 
you  had  risen  and  had  addressed  some  words  to  him,  and  that 
moment  you  ceased  to  see  him,  as  if  he  had  vanished  like  a 
ghost.  I  remember,  that  acting  under  the  impression,  which 
was  the  natural  consequence  of  this  event,  you  wrote  it  down 
in  a  little  memorandum-book,  where  you  were  in  the  habit  of 

371 


THE    UNKNOWN 

noting  striking  occurrences  in  your  peaceful  life,  and  I  also 
remember  that  you  showed  me  the  note-book. 

^*  I  was  the  less  surprised  at  what  you  told  me  then,  and  I  have 
preserved  a  remembrance  of  it  the  more  distinct,  because,  as  I 
told  you  in  the  beginning,  similar  experiences,  in  which  I  en- 
tirely believe,  have  occurred  in  my  own  family. 

'*^I  am  convinced  that  such  events  occur  much  more  fre- 
quently than  is  generally  supposed.  But  one  does  not  al- 
ways wish  to  speak  of  them,  because  one  is  apt  to  despise 
one's  self,  or  to  be  despised  by  others. 

^'Au  revoir,  dear  friend.     We  shall   soon  meet,  I  hope. 
Be  assured  of  the  sincere  good  wishes  of 
"  Yours  very  devotedly, 

"  Faucigny,  Prince  de  Lucinge.'' 

Mr.  Wingfield  adds,  in  answer  to  some  questions  : 

"1  have  never  had  any  other  alarming  dream  of  this  kind, 
nor  indeed  any  other  dream  of  any  kind  in  which  I  awoke 
with  such  an  impression  of  reality  and  uneasiness,  and  with 
an  effect  so  enduring  after  my  awakening.  I  have  never  had 
any  hallucinations." 

It  should  be  noted  that  this  dream  did  not  take  place  un- 
til so7ne  hours  after  death. 

Documents  of  this  kind  are  so  numerous  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  cease  quoting  them.  We  cannot  refrain  from  men- 
tioning one  more  dream,  not  less  remarkable,  which  has  been 
recently  published,  with  all  the  documents,  affording  a 
guarantee  of  absolute  veracity,  in  the  excellent  special  re- 
view, Annates  des  sciences  psychique,  by  Dr.  Darieux  : 

LXX.  ''In  the  first  days  of  November,  1869,  I  set  out 
from  Perpignan,  my  native  town,  in  order  to  continue  my 
studies  in  pharmacy  at  Montpellier.  My  family  at  this  time 
was  composed  of  my  mother  and  my  four  sisters.  I  left 
them  very  happy  and  in  perfect  health. 

"On  the  22d  of  the  same  month  my  sister  Helen,  a  fine 
girl,  eighteen  years  of  age,  who  was  my  youngest  and  favor- 
ite sister,  entertained  some  of  her  young  friends  at  my 
mother's  house.     Towards  three  o'clock   in    the  afternoon 

372 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

they  went  towards  the  Promenade  des  Plantanes  in  company 
with  my  mother.  The  weather  was  very  fine.  At  the  end 
of  half  an  hour  my  sister  was  seized  with  a  sudden  illness. 
'  Mother/  she  said^  '  I  feel  a  strange  shuddering  over  all  my 
body.     I  am  cold,  and  my  throat  hurts  me.     Let  us  go  home.' 

'^  Twelve  hours  afterwards  my  beloved  sister  expired  in  my 
mother's  arms,  struggling  for  breath.  She  succumbed  to 
diphtheria,  which  two  doctors  were  powerless  to  cure. 

"  My  family  sent  me  telegram  after  telegram  to  Montpel- 
lier,  for  I  was  the  only  man  to  represent  them  at  the  funeral. 
By  a  terrible  fatality,  which  I  lament  to  this  day,  none  of 
them  reached  me  in  time. 

^'  But  during  the  night  of  the  23d,  eighteen  hours  after 
the  poor  child's  death,  I  became  the  victim  of  a  fearful  hal- 
lucination. 

''  I  had  reached  home  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  with 
my  mind  at  ease,  and  full  of  the  pleasure  which  I  had  en- 
joyed during  the  22d  and  the  23d,  both  of  which  days  had 
been  spent  on  a  pleasure  party.  I  went  to  bed  in  a  very  gay 
humor,  and  five  minutes  afterwards  I  was  asleep. 

*'  Towards  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  saw  my  sister  ap- 
pear before  me,  pale,  sohbing,  lifeless,  and  a  piercing  cry,  sad, 
and  repeating  itself,  struck  on  my  ear  :  *  What  are  you  doing, 
my  Louis  ?     Come  !  come  /' 

^'  In  my  nervous  and  agitated  sleep,  I  thought  I  took  a  car- 
riage; but,  alas!  in  spite  of  superhuman  efforts  I  could  not 
induce  it  to  proceed. 

*' And  I  saw  my  sister  always  before  me,  pale,  sobbing,  life- 
less, and  the  same  piercing,  sad,  constantly  repeated  cry 
struck  on  my  ear  :  'What  are  you  doing,  my  Louis.  Come! 
come !' 

'^  I  woke  up  suddenly,  with  my  face  flushed,  my  head  burn- 
ing, my  throat  dry,  my  respiration  short  and  hurried,  while 
my  body  was  bathed  in  sweat. 

*'  I  sprang  out  of  bed,  trying  to  compose  myself.  An  hour 
afterwards  I  went  back  to  bed,  but  I  could  not  rest  again. 

''At  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  arrived  at  ih.Q  pension, 
a  prey  to  irresistible  sadness.     When  I  was  interrogated  by 

373 


THE    UNKNOWN 

my  companions,  I  related  to  them  the  cruel  experience  which 
I  had  just  passed  through.  They  expended  some  jests  upon 
it.  At  two  o'clock  I  went  to  the  college,  hoping  to  find  some 
relief  in  study. 

^^Upon  coming  out  of  class  at  four  o'clock  I  saw  a  woman 
in  deep  mourning,  advancing  towards  me.  Two  paces  from 
me  she  raised  her  veil.  I  recognized  my  eldest  sister,  who, 
uneasy  in  regard  to  me,  came  to  find  out  what  had  become 
of  me,  in  spite  of  her  extreme  grief. 

*'  She  informed  me  of  the  fatal  occurrence,  which  nothing 
could  have  warned  me  of,  since  1  had  received  excellent  news 
of  the  healthof  my  family  on  the  morning  of  the  22d  of  Novem- 
ber. 

^'  Such  is  the  narrative,  which  I  affirm  to  you,  on  my  honor, 
is  absolutely  true.  I  do  not  express  any  opinion,  I  confine 
myself  to  the  relation  of  it. 

^^  Twenty  years  have  passed  since  then,  yet  the  impression 
is  still  very  profound — at  the  present  moment  especially — 
and  if  the  features  of  my  Helen  do  not  still  appear  to  me  with 
the  same  distinctness,  I  always  hear  that  same  sad,  repeated, 
despairing  appeal :  'What  are  you  doing,  my  Louis?  Come  ! 
come!'  Louis  Noell. 

"  Apothecary  at  Cette." 

This  story  is  accompanied  by  documents  intended  to  con- 
firm its  authenticity.  We  will  cite  from  these  documents 
the  following  letter  from  the  observer's  sister. 

^'  My  brother  has  begged  me,  at  your  request,  to  send  you 
an  account  of  the  interview  which  I  had  with  him  at  Mont- 
pellier,  after  the  death  of  my  sister  Helen.  According  to 
your  desire,  and  his,  I  bring  you  my  testimony,  in  spite  of 
the  painfulness  of  my  recollections. 

'^  My  brother  recognized  meatonce  in  the  street, in  spite  of 
my  mourning  dress,  and  as  soon  as  I  saw  him  I  understood  that 
he  was  still  in  ignorance  of  Helen's  death.  '  What  misfortune 
has  befallen  us  ?'  he  cried.  When  he  learned  of  Helen's  death 
from  my  lips,  he  pressed  me  in  his  arms  with  violence,  so  that 
I  nearly  fell  when  he  released  me.     When  we  reentered  the 

374 


THE    WORLD    OF    DREAMS 

house  I  had  to  undergo  a  terrible  scene.  My  brother,  who 
is  very  nervous  and  very  excitable,  but  also  very  kind-hearted, 
was  nearly  insane  with  rage,  and  he  almost  ill-treated  me. 
'  What  a  fatality!'  said  he ;  ^  what  a  misfortune !  Oh,  the  tele- 
grams, why  have  I  not  received  them  T  and  he  struck  vio- 
lently on  the  table  with  both  hands.  He  swallowed  three 
large  carafes  of  water  one  after  the  other.  At  one  time  I 
thought  that  he  was  mad,  for  his  glance  was  so  wild. 

'*  Some  hours  afterwards,  when  he  had  recovered  himself, 
he  said :  '  Oh,  I  was  sure  of  it,  a  great  misfortune  was  going 
to  befall  me.'  He  then  told  me  of  the  hallucination  which 
he  had  experienced  during  the  night  of  the  23rd  and  24:th. 

*'  Theeese  Noell.'' 

This  dream,  like  the  preceding  one,  was  experienced  after  the 
death  of  the  subject  who  occasioned  it.  We  will  not  analyze 
here  the  immediate  causes  of  these  sensations,  for  we  shall 
have  to  distinguish  later  on  between  manifestations  of  the 
dead  and  those  of  the  dying,  as  well  as  of  the  living ;  what 
we  wish  to  lay  stress  upon  here  is  the  dream  itself,  whatever 
may  be  the  nature  of  the  psychic  action  involved.  Several  ex- 
planations can  be  suggested.  Was  the  mind  of  the  brother 
transported  to  the  sister,  and  did  he  find  her  dead  ?  Or  did 
the  sister,  on  the  contrary,  seek  the  brother,  and  did  it  re- 
quire eighteen  hours  for  the  appeal  to  arouse  a  sensation  ? 
Was  there  simply  a  natural  psychic  current  existing  between 
the  brother  and  sister  ?  These  are  questions  for  investiga- 
tion.    We  are  entering  upon  a  new  world  which  is — ?  ?  ? 

But,  in  reading  of  dreams,  we  see  and  we  feel  that  the 
force  which  is  in  action  does  not  always  proceed  from  the 
dying  person  to  the  percipient,  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
sometimes  from  the  dreamer  to  the  dying  person,  and  thus 
resembles  vision  at  a  distance. 

This  is  the  impression  given  by  cases  VIII.  (where  the 
grandmother  led  the  children  across  a  field),  XI.  (where  a 
brother  died  at  St.  Petersburg  with  his  children  on  their 
knees  beside  his  bed),  XII.  (the  long  funeral  procession), 
XV.  (the  death  of  the  dog),  XVII.  (the  child  dying  on  the 

375 


THE    UNKNOWN 

red  quilt),  XX.  (five  coffins),  XXI.  (the  death  of  Carnot), 
XXXIX.  (the  funeral  of  the  young  girl  at  Nantes  seen  at 
Carthagenia),  XLVI.  (General  de  Cossigny  falling  down- 
stairs), XLVIII.  (the  wound  in  the  right  shoulder),  LV.  (a 
revolver-shot  received  in  the  hand),  LVI.  (the  pupil  seeing 
the  brother  of  the  professor  killed  by  a  bullet  wound  in  his 
head),  LXIV.  (Marshal  Serrano  announcing  the  death  of  the 
king),  LXVII.  (the  old  woman  seeing  the  death  of  her  cure), 
etc.  It  would  seem  that  in  these  instances  the  mind  of  the 
dreamer  had  seen,  perceived,  felt,  with  perfect  truth  the 
things  which  were  passing  at  a  distance. 

The  establishment  of  sight  at  a  distance,  in  dreams,  will 
be  the  object  of  our  next  chapter. 

But  we  consider  the  70  cases  just  reported  as  absolutely 
conclusive,  and  we  also  regard  them  as  confirming,  from  an- 
other point  of  view,  the  186  dying  manifestations  detailed 
above.  For  ourselves,  psychic  manifestations  are  certain  and 
incontestable.  They  must  henceforward  constitute  a  new 
branch  of  science. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
DISTANT  SIGHT   lis"   DREAMS. — ACTUAL  FACTS 

It  would  seem  from  the  examples  already  reported  that 
in  certain  dreams  the  dreamer  sees  really  what  is  happening 
at  a  distance.  We  will  here  continue  our  investigation  by 
other  special  cases,  observed  and  related  with  great  care, 
that  are  not  connected  with  manifestations  from  the  dying, 
which  we  now  consider  sufficiently  demonstrated. 

What  is  more,  in  these  examples  of  sight  at  a  distance  in 
dreams,  we  will  only  speak  of  things  present — things  actually 
seen  —  reserving,  in  our  methodical  classification,  what  we 
have  to  say  of  divination  of  the  future  for  another  chapter, 
which  will  be  the  last  in  this  volume.  We  will  also  postpone 
what  we  propose  to  say  of  things  seen  in  the  future  by  per- 
sons wide  awake,  as  well  as  any  analysis  of  presentiments. 
These  divisions  are  absolutely  indispensable,  if  we  would 
make  our  way  in  these  researches,  that  they  may  teach  us 
to  admit  only  what  is  told  us  upon  good  authority ;  and, 
lastly,  they  will  lead  to  explanations,  if  explanations  be 
possible. 

These  questions  have  for  many  years  been  the  object  of  my 
studies.  I  published  the  following  dream  in  the  Voltaire  of 
February  18,  1889.  It  had  been  sent  to  me  by  my  friend,  P. 
Conil,  our  sympathetic  colleague  in  the  Parisian  press  : 

I.  '^In  1844  I  was  in  my  seventh  years  course  of  study  at 
the  Lycee  Saint  Louis.  At  this  time  one  of  my  uncles,  Joseph 
Conil,  Juge  d'Instruction  at  the  He  Bourbon  (now  called 
Reunion),  had  come  to  Paris  to  consult  the  medical  authori- 
ties of  that  day  about  a  growth  upon  his  neck,  which  had  first 
begun  behind  his  right  ear,  but  which  had  spread  by  degrees 

377 


THE    UNKNOWN 

till  it  had  gained  his  whole  cheek,  and  was  threatening  to  get 
possession  of  his  head. 

"  He  would  have  liked  them  to  perform  an  operation,  but 
Valpeaii  opposed  it,  and  said  to  my  father:  *^ Without  an 
operation  he  may  live  a  year,  or  not  more  than  a  fortnight, 
but  if  we  perform  an  operation  he  will  surely  die  under  our 
hands.' 

**^This  opinion  was  not  made  known  to  my  poor  uncle; 
every  day  new  pretexts  were  invented  to  postpone  the  opera- 
tion. 

"  One  Sunday,  when  I  was  allowed  to  go  out,  I  found  him 
more  affectionate  than  ever,  and  when  I  had  to  go  back  to  the 
Lycee  he  said,  '  Kiss  me,  for  I  shall  never  see  you  again.' 

*'I  of  course  protested  against  these  words.  I  kissed  him 
affectionately,  for  I  sincerely  loved  him,  and  went  back  to 
school,  where  I  resumed  my  amusements  and  my  studies. 

"In  the  night  of  Thursday  or  Friday  of  this  same  week  I 
was  sleeping  soundly  when  a  dream  transported  me  to  Courbe- 
voie  (my  father  and  my  step-mother  passed  the  summer  there, 
and  there  they  had  taken  my  uncle). 

"  In  the  great  chamber  au  premier,  looking  on  the  garden, 
lying  on  his  bed,  draped  with  red  curtains,  my  uncle  was  care- 
fully nursed  by  my  father  and  my  step-mother,  who  was  al- 
ways sitting  beside  his  bed,  silently  praying.  There  was  also 
a  good  old  Breton  nurse,  Louise  by  name,  who  had  been 
many  years  in  our  service. 

''  My  uncle  spoke  to  the  persons  present  by  turns.  To  my 
father  and  my  step-mother  he  addressed  some  advice  concern- 
ing my  sister  and  me,  and  I  heard  his  words  very  distinctly  in 
my  dream.  I  could  repeat  them  now,  for  this  vision  made 
such  an  impression  on  my  mind  and  on  my  memory  that  it 
seems  as  if  it  took  place  yesterday.  But  what  he  said  would 
be  of  no  interest  to  your  readers. 

''To  Louise  he  gave  his  purse.  'Take  it,'  he  said;  'you 
have  nursed  me  like  a  Sister  of  Charity.'  And  I  still  seem  to 
hear  the  sobs  of  this  devoted  woman. 

"Then  there  was  a  silence,  broken  by  Louise  : 

***M.  Joseph,  for  three  months  you  have  not  been  able  to 

378 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

open  yonr  right  eye.     I  have  here  a  medal  of  the  Virgin  of 
Auray  ;  put  it  on  your  eye  and  it  will  open/ 

'^My  uncle  smiled ;  he  put  the  medal  on  his  eyelids,  which 
opened  at  once  and  remained  open  some  minutes. 

*^  My  uncle  was  a  good  Catholic.  '  I  shall  not  live  through 
the  night/  he  said.  ^  Louise,  bring  me  a  priest. "*  Louise  went 
at  once.  My  father  and  step-mother  took  each  a  hand  of  the 
sick  man,  who  continued  to  converse  with  them,  and  I  heard 
everything  they  said. 

'^  The  priest  arrived.  They  left  him  alone  with  the  dying 
man.  I  was  present  when  he  made  his  last  confession,  but  of 
that  I  did  not  hear  one  word. 

"  The  priest  went  out.  My  parents  and  Louise  came  back. 
Soon  the  last  struggle  began,  and  I  saio  all  its  heart-breaking 
details.  .  .  .  My  beloved  uncle  gave  a  long  sigh.  Then  he 
was  dead. 

"  When  I  awoke  the  college  clock  was  striking.  It  was  2 
A.M.     My  eyes  were  full  of  tears. 

"  'We  must  always  take  dreams  by  the  contrary,'  I  said  to 
myself.  '  I  have  dreamed  my  uncle  was  dead,  and  of  course 
he  is  better.' 

"  On  Sunday  morning  I  had  a  visit  from  a  friend  of  the 
family,  M.  Vigneau,  the  father  of  Henri  Vigneau,  the  author 
of  '^  Orfa,"  he  came  to  take  me  home  and  to  tell  me  the  sad 
news.  When  I  reached  Courbevoie  my  father  repeated  to 
me  the  last  advice  of  my  uncle  about  me  .  .  .  and  this  was 
precisely  the  advice  that  I  had  heard.  Very  much  impressed, 
I  said  to  my  father,  'And  did  not  my  uncle  also  say  so  and 
so?' 

'''Yes.' 

"  '  Were  not  his  last  moments  like  this  ?'  And  I  told  all 
that  I  had  seen  and  heard.     All  was  perfectly  exact. 

"  '  But  how  could  you  know  all  this  ?'  asked  my  papa. 

"  '  Papa,  I  dreamt  it.  But  tell  me  what  time  did  my  uncle 
die?' 

"  '  At  two  o'clock,  precisely.' 

"  *  I  knew  it,'  I  replied.  '  That  was  the  very  time  when  I 
awoke.'" 

C79 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Unconscious  cerebration  will  no  more  explain  dreams  of 
this  kind  than  those  related  in  the  last  chapter. 

It  seems  in  this  case  as  if  the  spirit  of  the  writer  had  been 
transported,  had  seen  what  was  passing  in  the  chamber  of  his 
dying  uncle.  In  another  dream  M.  Conil  saw  Havre  before 
he  had  ever  been  there,  and  perfectly  recognized  its  quais  and 
streets  when  he  afterwards  visited  the  town  for  the  first 
time. 

Here  are  some  other  instances  of  the  same  kind,  copied  from 
the  collection  evoked  by  my  inquiry. 

II.  "First,  several  times  during  my  thirty  -  eight  years' 
ministry  I  have  felt  myself  instinctively  impelled  to  go  to  the 
bedside  of  persons  whom  I  did  not  know  were  sick,  but  whom 
I  found  to  be  dying.  If  I  did  not  fear  to  weary  you,  seeing 
the  great  number  of  letters  you  must  receive,  I  would  relate 
them  to  you.     One  must  suffice. 

"One  night,  or,  rather,  at  one  in  the  morning,  I  woke  up  sud- 
denly, for  I  saw  lying  in  his  bed  one  of  my  parishioners,  who 
seemed  dying  and  who  was  calling  for  me  loudly.  In  five 
minutes  I  was  dressed,  and  with  a  little  lantern  in  my  hand 
was  running  towards  the  house  of  the  sick  man.  On  my  way 
I  met  a  messenger  coming  full  speed  to  find  me^ 

"I  reached  the  dying  man,  who  had  just  lost  consciousness 
from  a  stroke  of  apoplexy.  I  had  only  time  to  repeat  the 
words  of  absolution  when  he  expired. 

"N"ow  this  man,  robust  and  strong,  had  gone  to  bed  at  nine 
o'clock  in  excellent  condition.  BouiN, 

"Honorary  Canon,  Cure  of  Couze,  Dordogne." 
Letter  4. 

III.  "  I  had  three  very  good  friends  who  were  farmers  at 
Chevennes.  I  had  not  seen  them  for  some  time.  One  night 
I  had  a  horrible  nightmare.  I  saw  their  farm-house  on  fire. 
I  made  superhuman  efforts  to  run  and  call  for  help,  but  I 
could  not  stir.  I  could  utter  no  word,  my  feet  seemed  glued 
to  the  ground.  I  saw  several  other  buildings  catch  fire,  and 
at  last,  just  as  the  whole  was  falling  in, I  made  a  tremendous 
effort  to  free  myself,  and  I  woke  up,  with  my  throat  dry  and 

380 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

my  legs  cramped.  I  jumped  out  of  bed.  My  wife  woke  up. 
I  told  her  my  dream.  She  laughed  heartily  at  seeing  me  so 
concerned  at  it. 

''In  the  course  of  the  next  day  I  received  an  express  telling 
me  that  part  of  the  farm-house  had  been  destroyed  by  fire. 

''Georges  Parent, 
"Mayor  at  Wi^ge-Faty  (Aisne)." 
Letter  20. 

IV.  "  My  father  Palmero,  a  colonial  engineer,  belonging 
to  the  Fonts  et  Ohaussees,  and  a  native  of  Toulon,  after  having 
passed  twenty  years  at  the  island  of  Reunion,  where  he  mar- 
ried and  had  five  children,  returned  to  France  on  half-pay  in 
1867,  and  settled  at  Toulon.  My  mother,  who  had  been  born 
at  Reunion  of  one  of  the  best  families  in  the  place,  could  not 
leave  her  native  island  without  keen  regret,  especially  as  she 
left  behind  her  father  and  mother,  whose  means  had  been 
greatly  impaired  by  a  reverse  of  fortune. 

"In  the  first  years  passed  in  France,  where  everything  was 
strange  to  my  mother,  she  was  so  unhappy  that  my  father,  a 
man  of  the  utmost  kindness,  took  a  secret  resolve  to  ask  her 
father  and  mother  to  come  and  live  with  us. 

"  He  was  careful  not  to  let  his  wife  know  this,  for  not- 
withstanding her  great  love  for  her  own  parents,  she  would 
have  opposed  a  plan  which  would  have  been  so  costly,  and  in 
the  end  might  have  been  so  injurious  to  the  interests  of  the 
family  if  seven  persons  had  to  be  supported  on  the  half-pay 
of  my  father. 

"My  mother,  therefore,  was  for  several  reasons  kept  in  ig- 
norance of  this  step  of  my  father's,  and  had  it  been  told  her 
she  would  not  have  believed  it.  My  grandfather  and  grand- 
mother, at  a  very  advanced  age,  lived  at  Reunion,  among 
their  mother  children,  happy  in  their  care  and  in  a  thousand 
little  satisfactions  that  proceed  from  an  honorable  and  quiet 
life. 

"Nothing,  therefore,  seemed  to  make  it  probable  that 
they  would  accept,  as  they  did,  their  son  -  in  -  lawn's  pro- 
posal. 

38t 


THE    UNKNOWN 

''Leaving  everything,  selling  their  scanty  furniture,  im- 
pelled by  that  unknown  force  which  we  call  destiny,  the 
two  old  people  took  the  first  steamer  for  France,  without 
writing  (had  they  done  so,  their  letter  would  have  arrived 
after  they  did)  and  without  telegraphing  (there  was  no  tele- 
graphic communication  between  France  and  the  Isle  of  Bour- 
bon at  this  period). 

"  We  therefore  had  had  no  news  when,  one  night  in  the 
month  of  May,  1872,  my  mother,  suddenly  waking  up,  cried 
to  my  father :  '  My  dear  !  my  children  !  get  up.  I  have  just 
seen  papa  and  mamma  out  there  beyond  Toulon  in  a  boat. 
Dress  yourselves  quickly  ;  we  shall  hardly  have  time  to  make 
ready  their  room.' 

''My  father,  who  could  not  think  his  letter  had  been  so 
persuasive,  nor  that  a  steamer  had  left  Reunion  a  day  or 
two  after  its  receipt,  began  to  laugh,  and  advised  my  mother 
to  lie  down  and  let  her  children  sleep. 

"  Her  first  emotion  having  passed,  my  mother  took  his  ad- 
vice and  went  to  bed  again,  but  not  until  she  had  repeated 
that  ^hefelt  sure  that  she  had  seen  her  father  and  mother  ^pass- 
ing the  harbor  of  Toulon  in  a  boat. 

"The  next  day  we  received  a  telegram  from  Marseilles 
telling  us  that  grandfather  and  grandmother  had  arrived  by 
the  steamer  of  the  Messageries  Mari times. 

"  When  my  mother  told  her  father  about  her  vision  on  the 
preceding  night,  he  told  us  that,  wearied  by  their  voyage  and 
excited  by  the  idea  of  so  soon  seeing  their  beloved  daughter, 
they  could  not  sleep,  and  that  in  a  sudden  burst  of  feeling 
they  had  looked  intently  into  the  darkness,  their  hands  clasped 
each  other,  and  thinking  that  only  a  few  revolutions  of  the 
wheel  now  kept  them  from  the  object  of  their  journey,  they 
had  exclaimed  to  each  other  :  '  There  lives  our  daughter  ! 
We  shall  see  her  and  embrace  her  in  a  few  hours.'  They 
were  in  sight  of  Toulon. 

"My  grandmother  still  lives  with  me.  She  is  very  old, 
but  when  I  speak  to  her  of  her  return  to  France  her  eyes 
sparkle,  and  I  know  that  her  spirit  has  traversed  space  to 
communicate    with    the    brain    of    her  for  whom  she   left 

383 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

everything   at  an  age  when  transportation  to  new  places 
alarms  and  disturbs.  Palmero, 

"Agent  of  Posts  and  Telegraphs  at  Marseilles." 
Letter  24. 

V.  ''My  father  being  at  boarding-school,  about  thirty 
miles  from  home,  was  awakened  suddenly  one  night  with 
his  mind  full  of  an  idea  that  his  mother  was  dying.  (Was 
it  a  dream  ?)  He  could  not  go  to  sleep  again  until  day- 
light, being  seized  with  a  great  fear,  and  as  soon  as  the 
school-master  was  awake  he  went  to  him,  begging  permis- 
sion to  go  home.  It  was  refused.  The  same  night  a  letter 
reached  him  from  his  father,  telling  him  that  the  night  be- 
fore, and  at  the  same  hour  when  he  roused  up  in  a  fright, 
his  mother  had  been  thought  to  be  dying.  She  had  received 
the  last  sacraments,  and  had  spoken  of  him  several  times. 
She  had  rallied,  however,  after  being  very  near  to  death,  and 
she  lived  long  after.  Beri^aed  Vai^dekhougei^. 

"Mantes." 

Letter  31. 

VI.  ''Some  years  ago  I  lived  on  a  little  property  a  few 
miles  fjom  Papiti,  the  capital  of  our  French  establishments 
in  Oce'inia.  I  had  to  go  to  a  meeting  one  night  of  the  Coun- 
cil Geaeral,  and  about  midnight  quitted  the  town  in  a  little 
English  tax-cart,  when  I  encountered  a  terrible  storm. 

"My  lamps  were  blown  out,  the  road  I  had  to  take  along 
the  edge  of  the  coast  was  perfectly  dark;  my  horse  grew 
frightened  and  unmanageable.  All  of  a  sudden  I  felt  a  vio- 
lent shock,  my  carriage  had  run  into  a  tree. 

"The  two  hind  wheels,  with  what  belonged  to  them,  re- 
mained on  the  spot  of  the  accident.  I  fell  between  the  horse 
and  the  broken  body  of  the  carriage,  and  was  dragged  a  long 
distance  by  the  frightened  animal,  in  the  course  of  which  I 
had  every  chance  of  being  killed  a  hundred  times. 

"  However,  as  I  did  not  lose  my  presence  of  mind,  I  suc- 
ceeded in  calming  my  horse,  and  getting  down  from  the 
broken  part  of  the  chaise.  I  shouted  for  help,  but  merely  on 
a  chance,  for  I  was  in  a  perfectly  uninhabited  country. 


THE    UNKNOWN 

*' Suddenly  I  saw  a  light  apparently  coming  towards  me, 
and  a  few  minutes  after  my  wife  arrived,  having  run  nearly 
a  mile  straight  to  the  scene  of  the  accident.  She  told  me 
that  she  was  asleep  when  she  was  suddenly  awakened  by  a 
perception  that  my  life  loas  in  danger,  and  without  hesitation 
she  had  lighted  a  lantern,  and  through  the  rain,  which  fell  in 
torrents,  had  set  out  to  find  me. 

"  I  had  often  returned  from  town  on  a  dark  night,  but  my 
wife  had  never  before  felt  the  smallest  anxiety  about  me. 
That  night  she  actually  saw  what  had  happened  to  me,  and 
could  not  resist  the  earnest  impulse  of  coming  to  find  me. 

'*I  have  no  remembrance  of  having  sent  an  ardent  mental 
appeal  to  her,  and  I  own  I  was  completely  bewildered  when 
I  heard  a  voice  calling,  *I  know  you  are  hurt  and  I  am 
coming  V  Jules  Texier. 

"Chatellerault."  Letter  50. 

VII.  "  I  was  living  at  Cette  with  my  wife,  her  mother,  and 
my  two  daughters,  in  a  villa  on  the  slope  of  a  mountain.  I 
went  every  morning  into  the  town  in  a  carriage  that  I  hired 
by  the  month,  and  which  came  for  me  always  at  8  a.m.  Now 
one  day  I  awoke  at  five,  after  a  horrible  dream. 

"I  had  seen  a  girl  /a//  out  of  a  ivindoio,  and  she  was  killed 
on  the  spot.  I  told  this  dream  to  my  family.  It  was  seven 
o'clock,  and  they  were  all  getting  up.  They  were  much 
startled  by  it.  I  went  down  into  the  garden  to  wait  until 
eight  o'clock,  when  the  carriage  would  come  for  me  as  usual. 
But  it  did  not  arrive  until  half -past  nine.  I  was  much  an- 
noyed at  this  delay,  which  would  interfere  with  my  business. 
But  the  driver  told  me  that  the  reason  he  had  come  instead 
of  his  master  was  because  that  morning  at  five  o'clock  his 
little  girl  (ten  years  old,  I  think)  had  fallen  out  of  a  window 
and  was  dead. 

"  I  had  never  seen  the  child.  Martin  Hallb. 

"19  Rue  Clement-Marot,  Paris." 

Letter  61. 

VIII.   ''Six  years  ago  I  gave  birth  to  my  second  child, 
which  my  mother,  fearing  for  my  health,  carried  the  next 

384 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

day  home  with  her,  thirty  miles  away,  that  she  might  have  it 
cared  for  under  her  own  eyes.  I  was  very  ill  at  first,  then  I 
got  better.  I  began  to  get  np  and  (need  I  say  it?)  my 
thoughts  were  always  of  the  dear  little  being  so  suddenly 
taken  from  me  that  I  had  barely  seen  it. 

"  We  heard  frequently  of  the  baby,  and  the  news  was  al- 
ways satisfactory.  We  were  perfectly  easy  on  its  account. 
One  morning  I  awoke  with  a  singular  oppression  of  spirits. 
I  had  dreamed  in  the  night  that  my  child  was  a  hunchback. 
I  told  my  husband,  and  I  began  to  cry.  He  laughed  at  me. 
As  soon  as  I  was  up,  and  while  he  was  away,  I  wrote  to  my 
mother,  telling  her  my  dream  and  begging  to  hear  from  her 
without  delay  all  particulars  concerning  my  little  darling. 

"They  answered  by  telling  me  all  sorts  of  pleasant  things 
about  the  child.  He  was  a  magnificent  baby.  His  grand- 
father was  proud  of  his  grandson. 

"  Some  time  after  this,  my  mother,  who  had  not  seen  me  since 
my  confinement,  came  to  visit  us,  and  in  the  evening,  sitting 
over  the  fire,  she  told  us  in  confidence,  my  husband  and  myself, 
that  my  letter  had  caused  her  a  sudden  attack  of  illness ;  that, 
in  fact,  when  it  arrived,  she  had  just  discovered  that  my  child 
was  slightly  deformed.  He  had  had  the  symptoms  for  about 
a  fortnight,  but  it  was  really  nothing,  some  skilful  massage 
had  made  all  right  again,  but  my  mother  and  the  wet-nurse, 
though  they  said  nothing  to  any  one,  had  been  seriously  anx- 
ious. My  letter  arrived  in  the  midst  of  their  uneasiness,  and 
then,  almost  beside  herself,  my  mother  had  shown  the  baby 
to  the  doctor,  who  reassured  her,  telling  her  it  was  nothing 
and  not  to  alarm  herself  needlessly.  Marie  Duchein. 

"Paris." 

Letter  166. 

IX.  "  I  was  staying  with  one  of  my  friends,  in  the  month 
of  October,  1896.  It  was  the  time  of  the  visit  of  the  Czar,  and 
she  had  to  give  quarters  to  some  soldiers  who  had  come  on 
for  a  review.  Their  mess  was  at  our  house,  and  their  cook, 
when  they  were  leaving,  packed  up  with  their  things  a  spoon 
and  fork  belonging  to  us. 

2b  385 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"  As  soon  as  they  were  gone  we  noticed  the  disappearance 
of  these  things. 

"  My  friend  wrote  about  them  at  once,  and  two  days  after, 
when  she  awoke,  she  said  to  me  :  ^  Marie,  I  dreamed  that  I 
should  get  my  things  back  to-day,  and  that  I  should  receive 
a  letter,  but  what  is  very  curious,  that  the  letter  would  be 
on  jnjik  jjajjer  all  covered  ivith  writing,  without  the  least  little 
spot  on  it  being  blank,  and  the  envelope  will  be  white.' 

We  waited  impatiently  for  the  postman,  who  brought  us 
indeed  the  lost  things  and  a  letter  in  a  white  envelope,  but 
the  paper  loas  pink,  and  its  four  sides  were  covered  with 
writing. 

^'  How  could  my  friend  have  guessed  all  this  exactly  ?  Was 
it  a  dream  ?  Marie  Bouory. 

"  Brimont." 

X.  '^  I  have  a  brother,  now  twenty-nine  years  of  age,  who, 
in  1889,  went  to  Santiago,  in  Chili.  He  wrote  to  us  regular- 
ly. After  a  letter,  received  in  1892  (I  do  not  remember  the 
exact  date),  mamma  told  us  she  had  dreamed  that  she  had 
seen  him  ill,  and  being  carried  to  a  hospital  on  a  stretcher. 
Letters  took  about  thirty-five  days  to  come  from  Santiago  to 
France.  Five  months  passed  and  we  had  no  news.  At 
last  a  letter  came,  in  which  my  brother  told  ns  he  had  just 
come  out  of  hospital,  where  had  been  under  treatment  for  six 
months.  He  had  been  taken  there  when  suffering  from 
typhoid-fever,  which  was  followed  by  pluerisy. 

'^  Marie  Vialla. 
"30  Rue  Victor  Hugo,  Lyons." 

Letter  146. 

XI.  "  An  uncle  of  my  sister-in-law,  who  is  still  living,  was 
at  one  time  in  the  country  about  thirty  miles  from  Bayonne, 
where  he  dreamed,  one  night,  that  M.  Eausch,  one  of  his  in- 
timate friends,  had  been  murdered  on  one  of  the  Allies  Ma- 
rines of  Bayonne  by  some  Spaniards,  as  he  was  going  home. 

^'The  next  morning  M.  Bouin,  nncle  of  my  sister-in-law, 
told  her  his  dream,  though  he  did  not  put  much  faith  in  it ; 
but  shortly  after  he  received  news  that  his  friend  had  been 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

murdered  by  Spaniards  on  the  Allies  ^laritimes  of  Bayonne  on 
the  night  when  he  had  had  the  dream. 

''I  sign  thes3  lines  as  being  the  expression  of  the  truth, 
but  I  should  be  much  obliged  if  you  did  not  publish  the  name 
of  my  family  or  mine.  G.  F. 

"Bordeaux."  Letter  77. 

XII.  "  In  1872  or  1873,  my  mother,  then  a  young  unmar- 
ried girl,  lived  in  the  Rue  des  Tonnelles  with  her  mother. 
She  knew  a  family  of  poor  people  named  Morauge,  who  lived 
in  the  Rue  Saint-Antoine,  near  the  Lycee  Charlemagne. 
One  Saturday  evening  she  met  this  family,  and  little  Mo- 
range,  a  child  who  was  very  fond  of  her,  asked  her  to  come 
and  see  a  new  frock  she  had  put  on  the  day  before.  She 
went,  but  soon  she  left  the  child  and  returned  home.  The 
next  morning,  when  she  woke  up,  my  mother  told  my  grand- 
mother that  she  had  dreamed  that  the  whole  of  the  Morange 
family  were  dead. 

''^Soon  after  it  was  learned  that  they  had  all  perished  dur- 
ing the  night,  for  their  house  had  been  burned  down. 

^'  Marcel  Gbeschel. 
"80  Faubourg  Saint-Denis,  Paris." 

Letter  294. 

XIII.  '^  I  can  assure  you  of  the  truth  of  a  case  that  is 
absolutely  authentic,  and  which  happened  a  few  years  ago. 
I  saw  in  a  dream,  one  night,  two  ladies  of  my  acquaintance 
in  deejy  mourning,  though  I  had  not  an  idea  that  any  mem- 
ber of  their  family  was  dead,  or  even  ill.  I  questioned  them 
and  was  told  that  they  were  wearing  mourning  for  a  gentle- 
man, the  brother  of  one  of  them  and  the  husband  of  the 
other. 

'^  A  few  days  after  I  learned  that  his  death  had  taken 
place  on  the  night  of  my  dream.  He  died  at  Moscow,  the 
ladies  were  in  Germany,  and  I  lived  at  Mitau  (Courland  in 
Russia).  Sophie  Herrenbueg. 

"Mitau."  Letter  234. 

XIV.  '^  Thirty  years  ago  my  family  lived  at  Marseilles. 
One  morning  my  father  told   us  he  had  dreamed   that  his 

387 


THE    UNKNOWN 

mother,  who  lived  in  Alsace,  and  who  he  did  not  know  was 

ill,  was  dead.     Some  days  later  he  learned  that  his  mother 

had  really  died  on  the  night  of  his  dream.         N.  Nische. 

"  Chalou8-8ur-Marne." 

Letter  279. 

XV.  (A)  '*  When  I  was  a  young  woman  I  dreamed  I  was 
present  when  two  men  were  stealing  a  horse  belonging  to  my 
husband,  and  I  witnessed  all  the  precautions  they  took  to 
get  the  animal  noiselessly  out  of  the  stable.  When  I  woke 
up  I  told  my  dream  to  my  husband,  who  went  at  once  to  the 
stable,  which  he  found  empty.  Three  years  later  the  robbers 
were  caught  and  the  horse  paid  for. 

(B)  '*  One  night  I  saw  in  a  dream  a  friend  of  my  husband. 
He  was  in  a  cavern,  and  with  him  were  my  mother  and  my 
sisters,  dead.  The  gentleman  had  been  much  attached  to 
them.  He  was  wrapped  in  long  white  garments.  He  came 
towards  me  with  a  low  bow.  Then  he  disappeared,  so  did 
my  mother  and  sisters.     A  few  days  later  my  husband  died. 

'^  If  you  think  that  these  two  dreams  are  worth  publish- 
ing, do  not  give  my  name.     I  am  a  widow,  and  live  humbly 

in  retirement.  C.  F." 

Letter  312. 

XVII.  '^n  the  month  of  October,  1898  (on  the  13th  or 

14th),  I  had   just  quitted   Madame  G.,  with  whom  I   had 

spent  several   days,  to  embark  on  a  voyage  home.     On  the 

following  night  she  dreamed   she  saw  a   shipwreck  and   a 

number  of  persons  drowned.     When  she  woke  she  wished 

(for  having  had  other  experiences  she  thought  she  had  the 

gift  of  second-sight)  to  telegraph  to  me,  begging  me  not  to 

leave ;  but  her  husband  prevented  her.     On  October   15th 

the  papers   contained   accounts  of  a  great  storm  and  the 

wreck  of  a  vessel  involving  more  than  one  hundred  deaths. 

Happily — for  me — it  was  not  my  vessel.  P.  P., 

' '  Doctor  of  Laws. 
' '  Philippeville." 

Letter  896. 

XVIII.  ^'  Madame  B.  lived  a  few  years  since  in  a  villa 
near  Yokohama.     She  was  in  the  habit  of  lying  down  an 

388 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

hour  before  dinner.  One  afternoon  (she  does  not  remember 
exactly  if  she  was  awake  or  half  asleep),  she  suddenly  cried 
ont :  '  Ah !  mon  Dieu !  there  is  Mr.  N. ;  he  is  drowning  ! 
Save  him !  Save  him  !  .  .  .  Ah  !  he  is  dead.'  She  had  seen 
him  distinctly.  Her  husband  tried  to  reassure  her  by  saying 
it  was  all  a  dream,  but  a  short  time  after  a  messenger 
came  to  tell  them  that  their  friend,  Mr.  N.,  had  been 
drowned  while  taking  his  daily  bath  in  the  river  before 
going  up  to  their  villa  to  dine  with  them.  His  intention  of 
going  to  dine  with  the  B.'s  easily  explains  why  he  thought 
of  them  at  the  time  he  went  to  bathe.  The  hour  of  the 
accident  and  the  time  of  Madame  B/s  dream  coincided  ex- 
actly. F.  E.  Bade. 
"Hamburg."                         Letter  447. 

XIX.  "In  1884,  in  the  early  part  of  April,  at  Nice,  I 
dreamed  that  my  husband,  lying  ill  in  bed,  said  tome:  'Come 
and  kiss  me.'  (We  had  been  separated  for  some  time.)  An 
exposition  was  then  going  on  at  Nice.  On  Good-Friday, 
April  11th,  a  voice  said  to  me  :  'Go  to  the  exposition  to-day, 
or  you  will  never  see  him  again.'  In  the  night  of  April  12th 
and  13th  a  despatch  arrived;  my  husband  had  been  attacked 
with  congestion  of  the  lungs.  On  the  13th  I  left  Nice  for 
Paris.  I  saw  my  husband  at  Val  de  Grace,  y^^s^  as  I  had  seen 
him  in  my  dream.  He  died  on  the  loth,  without  regaining 
consciousness.  A.  S.  (widow). 

"Nice." 

'*  P.S.-^I  desire  to  be  anonymous.     Initials  only,  I  beg." 
Letter  483. 

XX.  ''  I  should  like  to  tell  you  of  a  dream  I  had  about  six 
years  ago,  which  made  a  great  impression  upon  me,  though  I 
am  not  superstitious. 

''At  that  time  I  was  a  teacher  in  a  boarding  school  in  the 
Department  of  the  Aisne.  One  night  I  dreamed  that  I  was 
walking  along  the  principal  street  of  our  town,  when,  looking 
up,  I  saw  a  clear  sky,  and  in  the  northeast  I  perceived  a  great 
black  cross,  on  which  I  saw  distinctly  two  letters  like  this : 

Mf  M. 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"  The  next  day  I  told  my  dream,  and  tried,  but  in  vain,  to  find 
out  if  any  member  of  my  family  had  a  name  beginning  with 
the  same  initals.  Not  finding  any,  I  thought  of  other  things. 
Some  days  later  (unfortunately  I  cannot  tell  you  the  exact 
date)  I  received  a  letter  telling  me  that  an  aunt  who  lived  in 
a  village  northeast  of  our  town,  and  whose  name  was  Margue- 
rite Marconnet,  had  just  died.  The  coincidence  between  my 
dream  and  her  death  was  so  striking  that  I  never  can  forget 
it,  and  what  most  astonishes  me  is  that,  though  I  knew  my 
aunt  well,  (I  saw  her  very  seldom,  it  had  been  some  time  since 
we  met),  I  hardly  ever  thought  of  her. 

^'  L.  Marconnet. 

•  •  Mont-beliard."  Letter  440. 

XXL  "  Some  years  ago  I  read  in  an  English  monthly  paper 
that  a  friend  of  Sir  John  Franklin  had  seen  in  a  dream  that 
Sir  John  had  failed  in  his  Arctic  expedition,  and  then  this 
friend,  whose  name,  if  I  remember  rightly,  was  Walter  Snoo, 
saw  all  the  country  where  the  event  took  place. 

"As  soon  as  he  woke  up,  being  skilled  in  drawing,  he  took 
a  pencil,  drew  the  boats,  the  blocks  of  ice  around  the  spot, 
and  in  fact  the  whole  country. 

"  This  drawing  he  sent  subsequently  to  one  of  his  friends, 
the  proprietor  of  a  great  illustrated  American  newspaper,  in 
which  it  was  inserted  with  a  brief  mention  of  the  impressions 
of  Walter  Snoo;  but,  of  course,  there  was  no  proof  of  the 
correspondence  of  the  event  with  the  details  in  the  drawing. 

"  When,  long  after,  the  mortal  remains  of  Franklin  and  his 
companions  were  found  in  the  ice  and  snows  of  the  Arctic 
regions,  those  who  saw  them  also  made  drawings  of  the  scene, 
showing  the  position  of  the  frozen  bodies,  the  boats,  dogs  har- 
nessed and  lying  dead,  all  agreeing  with  the  friend's  drawing. 

"  I  do  not  know  the  name  of  the  illustrated  paper,  nor  that 
of  the  English  monthly,  but  you  could  easily  find  them  and 
thereby  prove  the  exactness  of  your  records  to  the  whole 
world  by  verifying  this  letter  which  I  presume  to  write  to 
you.  Dr.  Bronislaw  Galechi, 

"Banister,  Place  Cathedrale  Farnow,  Galicia,  Austria." 
Letter  563. 
390 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

XXII.  ^'  I  can  certify  to  you  the  exactness  of  the  follow- 
ing facts: 

^'I  was  seven  years  old.  My  mother,  who  had  never  been 
willing  that  I  should  be  separated  from  her,  yielded  one  day 
to  an  earnest  request  from  one  of  my  aunts,  and  let  me  go 
with  her  to  the  country,  giving  many  charges  concern- 
ing me. 

^'  A  month  passed  without  any  incident,  and,  above  all,  with 
no  accident,  when  one  morning  my  mother  hurried  to  my 
uncle's  and  said  to  him : 

^'  'Please  write  at  once  to  my  sister  and  beg  her  to  send 
me  news  of  my  little  girl,  for  I  am  in  dreadful  anxiety  about 
her.  I  saw  her  last  night,  in  a  dream,  lying  on  a  road,  lifeless 
and  covered  with  blood.  Something  has  undoubtedly  hap- 
pened to  her.  I  have  a  presentiment  of  it.  Now  you  know 
that  I  am  never  mistaken  about  such  things!' 

"  My  uncle  laughed  at  my  mother  and  told  her  that  his  wife 
was  a  prudent  woman  and  would  expose  me  to  no  danger. 
But  the  next  day  he  received  a  letter  written  by  his  wife  the 
evening  before  in  which  she  told  him,  but  forbade  him  to  tell 
my  mother,  of  an  accident  that  had  befallen  me. 

*^  The  same  night  on  which  my  mother  saw  me  covered 
with  blood,  my  aunt  had  gone  out  driving,  taking  me  and 
three  other  persons  with  her.  It  was  dark;  the  carriage-lamp 
went  out,  and  we  found  ourselves  on  a  country  road  without 
knowing  where  we  were.  Suddenly  the  horse,  who  had  been 
trotting  quietly,  shied  and  reared.  He  ran  up  against  a 
hedge  on  one  side  of  the  road,  and  threw  out  all  the  people 
in  the  carriage.  No  one  could  tell  how  it  happened,  but  not 
one  of  them  received  so  much  as  a  scratch  but  myself.  I  had 
been  fast  asleep.  The  shock  threw  me  under  the  belly  of  the 
horse,  who,  in  trying  to  get  up,  struck  me  on  the  face  and 
chest,  and  dragged  me  over  the  sharp  pebbles  in  the  road,  the 
right  side  of  my  face  being  next  to  them. 

^'  My  blood  flowed  in  abundance  ;  my  ear  was  torn  ;  I 
heard  heart-rending  cries  for  help,  but  no  one  answered  them. 
As  I  said,  the  night  was  dark  and  our  lamps  were  out.  At  last 
help  came  from  a  house  not  far  off,  and  they  found  I  had 

391 


THE    UNKNOWN 

fainted  and  was  in   a  deplorable  condition.     A  man  in  his 
shirt-sleeves  had  passed  close  before  the  horse  and  had  fright- 
ened him.  G.  D. 
"  58  Avenue  de  Saxe,  Paris." 

Letter  625. 

XXIII.  "  One  morning,  when  I  was  seventeen  years  old,  I 
woke  up  about  seven  o'clock.  I  went  to  sleep  again  till  eight, 
and  I  dreamed  that  I  was  passing  before  a  house  where  lived 
a  family  I  knew,  but  seldom  visited.  This  house  had  a  shop 
in  it,  and  I  dreamed  I  saw  the  shop  closed,  with  a  sheet  of 
white  paper  nailed  on  the  door,  on  which  was  written  the 
word  *  Deceased.'  I  woke  up  and  told  my  dream  to  mamma, 
who  showed  me  the  newspaper  of  that  morning,  in  which  the 
death  was  announced.  Does  not  this  coincidence  tend  to 
prove  a  certain  displacement  of  the  soul  during  sleep  ?  With- 
out it  how  could  I  have  had  this  dream,  since  nothing  had 
made  me  think  of  a  death  in  that  family  ? 

''Marie  Louise  Milice. 
"  33  Rue  Boudet,  Bordeaux." 

Letter  661. 

XXIV.  "One  of  my  friends,  at  present  post-mistress  at 
Louvigne-du-Dezert  (Ille-et-Vilaine),  Mademoiselle  Blanche 
Suzanne,  was,  about  twenty-five  years  ago,  engaged  to  be  mar- 
ried to  a  young  man,  the  son  of  an  agriculturist,  who  had 
undertaken  teaching.  One  day  she  dreamed  that  her  fiance 
had  sent  her  a  long  letter,  in  which  he  wrote  as  follows,  or 
very  nearly  so : 

'''I  should  have  done  better  had  I  not  relinquished  the 
plough  and  taken  up  teaching.'  The  next  morning  the  young 
girl  told  her  dream  to  her  mother,  quoted  this  sentence,  and 
then  sat  down  to  her  work  again.  Some  hours  after  the  post- 
man brought  her  a  letter  from  her  lover,  in  which  were  pre- 
cisely and  exactly  the  same  words. 

''Henriette  FRANgois. 
"  Bromberg-Posen,  Germany." 

Letter  662. 

XXV.  "Here  is  what  once  happened  to  my  father,  a 
Councillor  of  State,  a  man  seventy  years  of  age,  when  he  was 

392 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

staying  in  the  country  to  get  a  little  rest.  It  was  at  Saint  filie. 
In  the  country  where  there  are  few  distractions  or  changes, 
where  one  day  passes  just  like  another,  my  father  lost  count 
of  time^  and  even  forgot  it  was  St.  filie's  day,  the  day  of  the 
village  fUe.  That  morning  at  breakfast  he  told  us  a  dream 
he  had  had  during  the  night.  He  had  seen  his  sister-in-law, 
who  lived  a  long  way  off.  She  asked  him  if  the  funeral  of 
her  husband  was  to  take  place  that  day  at  St.  ^filie,  or  on  an- 
other day  elsewhere.  When  my  grandfather  told  us  the 
dream,  he  said  it  had  been  a  great  surprise  to  learn  that  this 
was  St.  filie's  day.  After  thinking  a  moment,  and  remark- 
ing on  the  strangeness  of  dreams  in  general,  my  father  took 
the  train  to  go  to  town,  promising  to  come  back  in  the  even- 
ing. Great  was  our  surprise  when  he  returned,  bringing  a 
letter  from  his  sister-in-law  telling  us  of  her  husband's  death, 
which  took  place  on  the  day  of  St.  iSlie  ! 

''  Marie  de  Lesley. 
"  Riga-Orel,  Government  of  Smolensk,  Russia." 
Letter  679. 

XXVI.  "I  had  a  daughter  of  the  age  of  fifteen;  she  was 
my  joy  and  pride.  I  left  her  with  my  mother,  while  I  made 
a  little  journey.  On  May  17,  1894,  I  was  to  be  at  home 
again.  Now  on  the  16th  I  dreamed  that  my  daughter  was 
very  ill,  that  she  was  sobbing  and  calling  for  me  with  all  her 
strength.  I  woke  up  much  agitated,  but  I  said  to  myself 
dreams  are  all  nonsense.  In  the  course  of  the  day  I  had  a 
letter  from  my  daughter,  who  made  no  complaint  about  her 
health,  only  telling  what  had  happened  at  home.  The  next 
day  I  got  back;  my  daughter  did  not  run  to  meet  me  as  she 
always  used  to  do  ;  a  maid  told  me  she  had  been  suddenly 
taken  ill.  She  had  a  terrible  pain  in  her  head.  I  made  her 
go  to  bed.  Alas  !  she  never  again  left  it.  Diphtheria  declared 
itself  two  days  after,  and,  in  spite  of  all  our  care,  my  dear 
child  died  on  the  29th  of  May.  Now  two  days  before  her 
death  I  had  thrown  myself  upon  my  bed,  a  little  sick  cham- 
ber separated  from  hers  only  by  a  door  ;  I  closed  my  eyes, 
but  I  did  not  sleep.     My  daughter  was  in  a  doze,  but  the 


THE    UNKNOWN 

nurse  was  awake.  Suddenly  a  bright  light  shone  in  the  dark 
chamber,  with  a  swiftness  and  a  brilliancy  like  that  of  a  flash 
of  sunlight  in  August  at  mid-day.  I  called  to  the  nurse. 
She  did  not  answer  me  for  a  moment;  before  she  did  so  I  was 
beside  my  daughter's  bed.  The  night-lamp  had  gone  out,  the 
flash  of  light  was  gone.  The  nurse  seemed  paralyzed  with 
fear.  In  vain  I  questioned  her,  but  next  day  she  told  the 
servants  (and  she  says  the  same  thing  still)  that  she  saw  my 
husband,  who  died  six  months  before,  standing  at  the  foot  of 
my  daughter's  bed. 

"  This  person  is  still  living.  She  is  forty-eight  years  old, 
and  she  will  tell  what  she  saw  to  any  one  who  asks  her. 

''Madame  R.  De  L. 

"Lacapalle."  Letter  633. 

XXVII.  (A).  ''Not  long  ago  I  got  in  a  very  nervous  state 
thinking  of  my  deceased  husband,  who  had  died  seven  years 
before,  when,  having  gone  to  bed,  I  took  a  newspaper  and 
read  a  review  of  a  book  written  by  Monsieur  K. 

"After  reading  this  criticism  I  had  an  ardent  desire  to  see 
the  book,  all  the  more  so  because  Monsieur  K.  had  been 
an  old  friend  of  my  husband's. 

"The  next  day,  on  reaching  the  high  school  for  young 
girls,  in  which  I  am  a  professor,  one  of  the  pupils  in  the  first 
class  brought  me  a  book,  and  said  :  'Madame,  I  wish  you 
would  read  this  book  and  give  me  your  opinion  of  it.'  I 
opened  the  book,  and  saw  it  was  the  one  I  had  so  much 
wished  for  the  evening  before. 

(B).  "  If  this  had  been  a  solitary  case  I  should,  probably, 
have  passed  it  over  in  silence,  but  in  the  course  of  the  same 
week  a  second  thing  happened  which  impressed  me  equally. 
I  dreamed  of  one  of  the  pupils  named  Z.,  who  had  left  school 
and  gone  to  another  town,  and  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  a 
year. 

"  I  saw  her  in  a  dream,  with  her  hair  cut  short. 

"  The  next  day,  in  the  gymnasium,  one  of  the  pupils  in  my 
class  came  up  to  me  and  said  :  'Madame,  I  have  receiveda 
letter  from  my  friend  Z. ;  she  begs  me  to  remember  her  to 

394 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

you.     She  is  very  much  put  out  just  now  because  they  have 
cut  off  all  her  hair.  .  .  / 

*'  Why  should  two  such  strange  things  have  happened  to 
me  in  one  week  ?  M.  OiTAi^'OFF. 

"  Fayanray,  on  the  Sea  of  Azof." 

Letter  634. 

It  will  be  found  by  these  examples  of  things  seen  at  a  dis- 
tance in  dreams  that  they  cannot  be  said  to  be  few.  Here 
are  still  some  more.  It  seems  to  us  that  the  very  number  of 
these  instances  makes  it  impossible  to  deny  such  experiences. 
These  that  follow  are  taken  from  the  Hallucinations  Tele- 
pathiques.  The  first  is  told  by  Dr.  Goodall  Janes,  living  at 
6  Prince  Edwin  Street,  Liverpool : 

XXIX.  "^  Mrs.  Jones,  the  wife  of  William  Jones,  a  pilot 
at  Liverpool,  kept  her  bed  on  Saturday,  February  27,  1869. 
When  I  went  to  see  her  the  next  day,  Sunday,  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  I  encountered  her  husband,  who  was  setting 
out  to  find  me,  because  his  wife  was  delirious.  He  told  me 
that  about  half  an  hour  before  he  had  been  reading  in  her 
chamber.  Suddenly  she  woke  out  of  a  profound  sleep,  de- 
claring that  her  brother,  William  Roulands,  also  a  pilot  at 
Liverpool,  had  been  drowned  in  the  river  (the  Mersey).  Her 
husband  tried  to  calm  her,  telling  her  that  Roulands  was  at 
his  station  in  the  offing,  and  could  not  possibly,  at  that  time, 
be  in  the  river.  But  she  persisted  in  declaring  that  she  had 
seen  him  drown.  News  arrived  in  the  evening  to  say  that  at 
the  hour  mentioned  (that  is,  about  half-past  two),  Roulands 
had  been  drowned.  There  had  been  a  sudden  squall  of  wind. 
The  pilot-boat  could  not  put  a  pilot  aboard  a  ship  that  wanted 
to  enter  the  Mersey.  It  had,  therefore,  to  go  before  and  lead 
the  way.  When  both  were  in  the  river,  opposite  the  light- 
house on  the  rock,  they  made  another  attempt  to  put  a  pilot 
on  board,  but  the  little  boat  was  swamped  and  Roulands  and 
another  pilot  were  drowned." 

This  is  a  striking  example  of  a  thing  seen  at  a  distance  in 
a  dream.  Inquiry  has  proved  the  absolute  authenticity  of 
the  story.  It  is  the  same  with  the  following  case,  told  by  a 
Mrs.  Green,  in  Newry,  England: 

395 


THE    UNKNOWN 

XXX.  "I  saw  iu  a  dream  two  women,  who  seemed  to 
know  pretty  well  what  they  were  about,  driving  a  vehicle 
very  like  the  carts  used  for  carrying  mineral  waters.  The 
horse  found  some  water  in  front  of  him ;  he  stopped  to  drink, 
but,  stepping  into  a  hole,  he  lost  his  balance,  and,  trying  to 
recover  himself,  he  slipped  deeper.  The  women  rose  up 
screaming  for  help ;  their  hats  flew  off  their  heads,  and  then 
all  sank  into  the  water.  I  turned  round  weeping,  trying  to 
see  if  I  could  find  any  one  to  render  assistance.  With  that  I 
partly  awoke,  greatly  agitated,  and  my  husband  woke  me  up 
completely.  I  told  him  my  dream.  He  asked  me  if  I  knew 
the  women.  I  told  him  no ;  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  never 
seen  them.  All  day  I  could  not  get  rid  of  the  impression  of 
the  dream,  and  the  disquietude  into  which  it  had  thrown  me. 

''1  said  to  my  son  that  it  w^as  his  birthday  and  mine  too, 
January  10th,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  I  am  so  sure  of  the 
date. 

''  In  the  month  of  March  I  received  a  letter  from  my 
brother  in  Australia,  and  a  newspaper,  which  told  me  of  his 
grief  at  losing  one  of  his  daughters,  who  had  been  drowned 
with  a  friend  precisely  on  the  same  day  and  at  the  same  hour 
as  my  dream,  allowing,  that  is,  for  the  difference  in  longi- 
tude. The  accident  was  related  in  the  Inglewood  Adver- 
tiser in  two  places." 

The  Inglewood  Advertiser  of  January  11,  1878,  published 
an  account  of  the  accident  which  corresponded  exactly  with 
what  was  seen  in  the  dream. 

Here  is  another  very  remarkable  instance  of  something 
seen  at  a  distance  in  a  dream.  The  person  to  whom  it  hap- 
pened was  the  son  of  the  Protestant  Bishop  of  Iowa  in  the 
United  States.  He  saw  in  a  dream  his  father,  who  lived 
about  three  miles  distant,  fall  down  a  staircase.  Here  is  the 
story  as  he  wrote  it  to  one  of  his  relations  : 

XXXI.  ''  I  ought  to  say  in  the  first  place  that  between  my 
father  and  myself  there  was  the  strongest  tie  of  affection, 
stronger  than  usually  exists  between  father  and  son.  For 
years  I  always  thought  I  could  tell  when  he  was  in  any  dan- 
ger, even  if  we  were  many  miles  apart. 

396 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

''  The  night  when  he  fell  down  the  staircase  I  had  got 
home  from  business  about  eight  o'clock,  after  a  day  of  very 
hard  work,  and  I  went  to  bed  immediately  after  supper.  I 
always  slept  next  the  wall.  Our  bed's  head  is  towards  the 
north,  consequently  I  slept  on  the  west  side  of  the  bed.  I 
fell  asleep  as  soon  as  my  head  touched  the  pillow,  and  I 
slept  a  heavy,  deep  sleep.  I  did  not  hear  my  wife  come  to 
bed,  and  I  knew  nothing  until  my  father  appeared  to  me  at 
the  top  of  a  staircase  about  to  fall.  I  sprang  to  seize  hold  of 
him,  and  jumped  out  of  bed  at  the  foot,  making  a  great  deal 
of  noise.  My  wife  woke  up,  and  asked  me  '  what  the  mis- 
chief I  could  be  doing  V  I  also  lit  a  lamp,  and  looked  at  my 
watch ;  it  was  a  quarter  past  two.  I  asked  my  wife  if  she 
had  heard  the  noise  I  made.  She  answered  no.  I  told  her 
then  what  I  had  seen,  and  she  tried  to  make  me  laugh  at  it, 
but  did  not  succeed. 

"  I  slept  no  more  that  night.  I  did  not  even  go  to  bed 
again,  the  impression  had  been  so  strong  that  I  could  not 
feel  a  doubt  that  my  father  had  hurt  himself.  I  went  early 
to  town  the  next  morning  and  telegraphed  to  him,  asking  if 
all  were  well.  I  got  a  letter  in  reply  from  my  father,  which 
exactly  corresponded  to  what  I  had  seen  in  my  vision,  and 
the  very  moment  as  well.  The  sad  consequences  of  the  fall 
we  know  too  well — but  how,  at  a  distance  of  three  miles, 
could  I  have  seen  my  father  fall  ?  That  is  what  I  cannot 
comprehend.  H.  M.  Lee.^' 

Bishop  Sullivan,  Bishop  of  Algoma,  confirms  the  fact, 
which  was  told  him  immediately  after.' 

The  preceding  instance  was  published  by  Professor  Sedge- 
wick  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Re- 
search, in  London,  and  he  adds  the  following  case  sent  him 
on  August  18,  1870,  by  Madame  de  Holstein  (29  Avenue  de 

1  Sciences  psychiques,  1891.  In  Phantasms  of  iJie  Living  will  be  found 
a  singular  case  (vol.  1.,  p.  338,  No.  108),  which  is  like  this  one.  In  it 
Canon  Warburton  suddenly  starting  from  his  sleep  saw  his  brother  fall- 
ing down  a  staircase.  Compare  also  No.  24  in  the  same  volume,  p.  202, 
and  a  dream  of  M.  Dreuillie  described  in  the  preceding  chapter,  xlvi. 

397 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Wagram,  Paris).  This  case  is  a  little  less  satisfactory  as  to 
proof  than  the  last,  because  the  dream  was  told  to  no  one 
until  its  truth  was  known.  It  seems,  however,  to  have  made 
such  an  impression  on  Dr.  Golinski  that  it  is  unlikely  that 
its  details  can  have  been  much  altered  after  the  event.  It 
differs  from  the  preceding  ones  in  that  the  clairvoyant  im- 
pression seems  to  have  been  due  not  to  any  rapport  between  the 
subject  and  the  agent,  or  to  any  especial  crisis  that  the  agent 
had  undergone,  but  to  his  anxiety  and  intense  desire  to  help. 
(Psychic  waves.) 

Now  see  what  Dr.  Golinski  writes  of  it.  He  is  a  physician 
at  Krementchug  in  Eussia : 

XXXII.  ^*I  am  in  the  habit  of  dining  at  three  o'clock, 
and  of  taking  a  little  nap  afterwards  of  an  hour  or  an  hour 
and  a  half.  In  the  month  of  July,  1888,  I  stretched  myself, 
as  usual  on  a  sofa,  and  I  went  to  sleep  about  half-past  three. 
I  dreamed  that  some  one  rang  the  bell,  and  I  had  the  usual 
disagreeable  sensation  that  now  I  must  get  up  and  go  to  see 
some  sick  person. 

''  Then  I  found  myself  somehow  transported  into  a  little 
room  with  dark  hangings.  To  the  right  of  the  door  by  which 
I  entered  there  was  a  bureau,  and  upon  the  bureau  stood  a 
little  coal  -  oil  lamp  of  a  very  peculiar  pattern.  I  was  very 
much  interested  in  the  shape  of  this  lamp,  it  was  so  differ- 
ent from  anything  I  had  ever  seen  before.  To  the  left  of  the 
door  I  saw  a  bed,  on  which  lay  a  woman  who  had  had  a  se- 
vere hemorrhage.  I  do  not  know  exactly  how  I  came  to  know 
she  had  a  hemorrhage,  but  I  did  know  it.  I  made  an  exam- 
ination of  the  woman,  but  in  some  way  (it  seemed  to  be  by 
inner  consciousness)  I  knew  at  once  what  to  expect,  though 
no  one  had  spoken  to  me.  Afterwards  I  dreamed  in  a  vague 
fashion  that  I  gave  her  some  medical  assistance  ;  then  I  awoke 
in  a  very  unusual  manner,  for  I  generally  wake  very  slowly — I 
remain  for  some  minutes  in  a  state  of  drowsiness,  but  now  I 
started  up  wide  awake,  as  if  some  one  had  roused  me.  It 
was  half -past  four.  I  got  up;  I  lighted  a  cigarette,  and  I 
walked  about  my  room  in  a  state  of  excitement,  reflecting  on 
the  dream  I  had  just  had.     For  a  long  time  I  had  had  no 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

case  of  hemorrhage  in  my  practice,  and  I  asked  myself  what 
could  have  caused  my  dream. 

"About  ten  minutes  after  I  woke  there  came  a  ring  at  my 
bell,  and  I  was  summoned  to  a  patient.  On  entering  the  bed- 
room I  was  struck  with  astonishment,  for  it  was  exactly  like 
the  chamber  I  had  seen  in  my  dream.  The  patient  was  a 
woman,  and  what  struck  me  most  of  all  was  an  oil-lamp  stand- 
ing on  the  bureau,  exactly  where  I  had  seen  it,  and  exactly 
the  same  shape  as  I  had  seen.  My  astonishment  was  so  great 
that  I  lost,  if  I  may  say  so,  all  distinction  between  the  dream 
and  the  reality,  and  going  up  to  the  bed  of  the  sick  woman,  I 
said  to  her,  quietly,  'You  have  had  a  hemorrhage.'  And  I 
did  not  recover  myself  until  the  patient  said,  '  Yes,  but  how 
did  you  know  it  ?' 

''  Struck  by  the  strange  coincidence  between  my  dream  and 
what  I  saw,  I  asked  the  woman  when  she  had  decided  to  send 
for  me.  She  told  me  she  had  been  indisposed  since  early 
morning.  About  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  she  had  had  a 
slight  hemorrhage  and  some  discomfort,  but  she  had  not 
thought  much  about  it.  At  about  half-past  four  she  decided 
to  send  for  me.  The  distance  between  my  house  and  that  in 
which  she  lived  takes  about  twenty  minutes  to  walk.  I  hardly 
knew  the  woman,  though  I  had  once  prescribed  for  her ;  but 
I  was  not  at  all  familiar  with  the  state  of  her  health. 

"I  do  not  commonly  dream,  and  this  is  the  only  dream 
that  I  can  remember,  thanks  to  its  correspondence  with 
reality." 

Mrs.  Henry  Sedgwick  has  described  several  experiences  of 
things  seen  at  a  distance  by  a  young  girl  of  fifteen,  when 
magnetized,  which  we  may  certainly  include  among  things 
observed  in  dreams.     We  will  quote  two  of  these  here  : 

XXXIII.  ''Miss  Florence  F.,  now  Mrs.  R.,  one  of  my 
neighbors,  was  invited  to  come  one  evening,  after  we  had  pre- 
pared an  experience  as  a  test  of  this  girl  during  the  day.  She 
came,  and  told  the  subject  to  go  to  the  kitchen  and  tell  us 
what  she  saw  there.  The  subject  answered :  '  The  table  is 
in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  on  it  is  a  box  covered  by  a 
table-cloth.'    '  What  is  in  the  box,  Fanny  V  I  asked.     'Oh,  I 

399 


THE    UNKNOWN 

dare  not  look  inside  the  box ;  it  might  make  Miss  Florence 
angry  !'  ^  Miss  Florence  wants  you  to  look.  Lift  up  the 
cloth,  Fanny,  and  tell  me  what  is  under  it/  At  once  she  an- 
swered :  'There  are  seven  rolls  and  six  biscuits/  (This  was 
exact.) 

**  I  grant  this  may  have  been  transmission  of  thought,  for 
Miss  Florence  was  in  the  room,  and  no  doubt  the  contents  of 
the  box  were  present  to  her  mind,  the  things  having  been 
arranged  by  her  as  a  trial,  but  what  followed  certainly  was 
not. 

''  Miss  Florence  asked  Fanny  what  was  in  the  stable  She 
answered  :  '  Two  black  horses,  one  gray,  and  one  red '  (she 
meant  bay).  Miss  Florence  said,  ^That  is  not  right,  Fanny. 
There  are  only  my  black  horses  in  the  stable.'  Ten  minutes 
or  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after  a  brother  of  Miss  Florence  came 
to  the  house  and  told  his  sister  that  he  had  brought  two 
travellers  with  him,  and  on  questioning  him  we  learned  that 
the  gray  horse  and  the  red  horse  belonged  to  them,  and  that 
half  an  hour  before  they  had  been  put  into  the  stable,  where 
Fanny  saw  them. 

'^'No  doubt  it  may  be  said  that  Fanny  arrived  at  this  con- 
clusion by  reading  the  mind  of  some  one  of  the  persons 
present  belonging  to  Miss  Florence's  household,  or  that  by 
telepathic  sympathy  with  her  father  or  brother  Miss  Florence 
was  unconsciously  made  aware  of  the  facts,  and  that  Fanny 
took  her  knowledge  from  this  unconscious  source,  but  is  not 
this  hypothesis  far  fetched  ?" 

XXXIV.  (A)  '^  Mr.  Howard  lived  six  miles  away  from  my 
house.  He  had  just  built  a  large  mansion  of  wood.  Our 
subject  had  never  seen  this  house,  although  I  think  she  may 
have  heard  it  spoken  of.  Mr.  Howard  had  been  passing 
several  days  away  from  home,  and  he  asked  that  Fanny  should 
go  there  and  see  if  all  was  well.  She  cried  out  at  the  size 
and  splendor  of  the  house,  but  she  laughed  at  the  ugliness  of 
the  front  door  and  the  fagade,  saying  that  she  would  not  have 
such  an  ugly  old  front  door  to  such  a  beautiful  house.  'Yes, 
said  Howard,  laughing,  'my  wife  is  furious  with  me  about 
the  front  door,  and  the  steps  of  the  fa9ade.'     'Oh  !'  inter- 

400 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

rupted  Fanny,  'but  the  steps  are  fine,  and  new/  'She  is 
wrong  there/  said  Howard.  '  The  steps  are  more  ugly  than 
the  front  door.'  '  But  don't  you  see,'  cried  Fanny,  impatiently, 
'how  new  they  are,  and  so  clean  ?  Ha  !'  (and  to  judge  by 
her  tone  she  was  much  annoyed)  '  I  think  they  are  perfectly 
beautiful.' 

*•'  Changing  the  subject,  Howard  asked  how  many  windows 
there  were  in  his  house.  Almost  immediately  she  gave  the 
number.  (I  think  it  was  twenty-six.)  Howard  thought  that 
was  too  many,  but  on  counting  them  he  found  she  was  right. 

"From  our  house  he  went  straight  home, and  to  his  great 
surprise  found  that  during  his  absence  his  wife  had  got  a  car- 
penter to  make  new  steps  to  the  porch,  and  the  work  was 
completed  the  very  day  that  Fanny  examined  the  house  with 
her  invisible  telescope. 

(B)  "  Mr.  Howard's  son  had  gone  into  a  neighboring 
county.  He  was  expected  home  in  a  few  days.  Fanny  knew 
this  young  man  Andrew.  Mr.  Howard  being  obliged  to  re- 
turn to  the  station,  was  with  us  the  night  his  son  was  expected 
to  return.  His  faith  in  our  'oracle'  had  grown  very  great, 
and  he  suggested  to  us  that  he  would  like  to  see  what  was 
passing  in  his  own  house  through  the  marvellous  faculties  of 
Fanny.  She  described  the  rooms  perfectly,  even  mentioning 
a  bouquet  standing  on  a  table,  and  said  that  several  persons 
were  there.  Questioned  as  to  who  they  were,  she  replied  that 
she  did  not  know  any  of  them  except  Andrew.  'But,'  she 
added,  'Andrew  is  not  at  home.'  'Fanny  !  How  is  that — 
don't  you  see  him  ?  Are  you  sure,  Fanny  ?'  'Oh  !  don't  I 
know  Andrew  ?  There  now — noio,  I  tell  you  !  He  is  there  !' 
Mr.  Howard  returned  home  the  next  morning,  and  learned 
that  Andrew  had  come  home  late  the  night  before,  and  that 
several  young  men  of  the  neighborhood  had  passed  the  even- 
ing with  him." 

Here  is  another  very  remarkable  case  of  sight  at  a  distance 
by  a  person  magnetized.  It  was  first  related  by  Dr.  Alfred 
Bacliman,  of  Kalmar. 

"  In  answer  to  a  letter  asking  Mr.  A.  Suhr,  a  photographer 
at  Ystad,  in  Sweden,  if  he  could  remember  anything  about  an 

401 


THE    UNKNOWN 

hypnotic  experiment  made  by  Mr.  Hansen  some  years  ago  in 
the  presence  of  Mr.  Sulirand  his  brother,  Dr.  Backman  wrote 
the  following  account : 

XXXVI.  "  It  was  in  1867  that  we  (myself  and  the  brothers 
who  sign  this  account)  were  established  at  Odense,  in  Den- 
mark, where  we  saw  a  great  deal  of  our  mutual  friend,  Mr. 
Carl  Hansen,  the  hypnotizer,  who  lived  near  us.  Every  day 
we  met  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Balle,  now  a  barrister  at  Copenhagen, 
over  whom  Mr.  Hansen  exercised  great  hypnotic  influence, 
and  who  requested,  one  evening,  to  be  put  into  so  deep  an 
hypnotic  sleep  that  he  might  become  cJairvoymit. 

"Our  mother  lived  at  this  time  at  Eoeskilde,  in  Seeland. 
We  asked  Hansen  to  send  Balle  to  visit  her.  It  was  late  in 
the  evening,  and,  after  having  hesitated  for  a  moment,  Mr. 
Balle,  in  a  few  minutes,  made  the  journey.  He  found  our 
mother  sick  and  in  bed ;  but  she  had  only  a  slight  cold, 
which,  he  said,  she  would  soon  get  over.  We  did  not  think 
this  could  be  true,  and,  as  a  test,  Hansen  asked  Balle  to  read 
the  name  of  the  street  at  the  corner  of  the  house.  Balle  said 
it  was  too  dark  to  read,  but  Hansen  insisted,  and  at  last  he 
reap  '  Skomagerstraede.'  We  thought  he  was  completely  mis- 
taken, for  we  knew  our  mother  lived  in  another  street.  A 
few  days  later  she  wrote  us  a  letter  saying  she  had  been  sick, 
and  had  moved  into  the  Skomagerstraede." 

Here  is  another  case  of  sight  at  a  distance — a  real  thing 
seen  in  a  dream  : 

XXXVII.  ''  I  lived  at  Wallingford.  My  chief  friend  was 
a  young  man,  Frederick  Marks,  a  graduate  of  the  scientific 
school  at  Yale.  Frederick  had  a  brother  named  Charles, 
then  living  in  central  New  York,  near  Lake  Oneida.  One 
rainy  day  Frederick  went  up  to  his  room  to  lie  down  and  do 
nothing.  In  about  an  hour  he  came  down,  saying  he  had 
just  seen  his  brother  Charles,  he  presumed  in  a  vision.  He 
was  in  a  little  sailboat,  and  had  a  companion  with  him,  who 
was  seated  in  the  stern.  It  was  blowing  a  gale,  the  waves  ran 
high.  Charles  was  in  the  bow,  with  one  arm  round  the  mast, 
while  with  the  other  he  held  on  to  the  boom,  which  was 
broken.     His  dangerous  situation  so  alarmed  Frederick  that 

402 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

he  woke,  and  the  vision  disappeared.  His  family  thought  he 
had  gone  to  sleep  without  knowing  it,  and  that  the  vision  was 
no  more  than  an  ordinary  dream. 

*^  Nevertheless,  three  or  four  days  later,  Frederick  received 
a  letter  from  Charles,  telling  him  of  an  adventure  he  had  just 
had  on  Lake  Oneida.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  in  question, 
he  and  a  companion  had  gone  down  to  the  lake,  hired  a  boat, 
and  set  sail.  As  the  weather  was  fine,  they  went  down  the 
lake  to  Frenchman's  Island,  a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles. 

^^  In  the  afternoon,  as  they  returned,  a  furious  storm  arose. 
Charles  baled  out  the  water  that  they  shipped,  while  his  com- 
panion held  the  rudder.  When  the  gale  was  at  its  height  the 
boom  broke.  Charles,  seeing  the  danger,  sprang  forward,  and, 
seizing  the  mast  with  one  arm  and  the  boom  with  the  other, 
he  tried  to  secure  it  with  the  hawser.  They  succeeded  in 
preventing  the  boat  from  going  down  until  they  ran  it  ashore. 
Then  they  jumped  into  the  lake  and  made  their  way  to  land, 
safe  and  sound. 

"  Oneida  Lake  is  about  three  hundred  miles  from  Walling- 
ford,  and  taking  into  consideration  the  difference  of  time,  it 
will  be  found  that  Frederick's  dream,  or  vision,  must  have 
taken  place  at  the  same  hour  as  Charles's  danger — perhaps  at 
the  same  minute.  The  temperaments  and  the  characters  of 
the  two  brothers  are  very  unlike,  and  no  particular  affinity 
exists  between  them.  Frederick  now  lives  at  Santa  Anna 
(California),  and  Charles  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

"B.  Bristol. 

"Short  Beach,  U.  S.  A." 

The  letters  of  MM.  Charles  and  Frederick  Marks  explain 
in  detail  the  peril  and  the  vision.  They  will  be  found  in  the 
Annals  of  Psychical  Sciences  (1892,  p.  250-255).  There  was 
in  this,  it  cannot  be  doubted,  a  very  decided  case  of  sight  at 
a  distance.  Let  us  remark,  in  the  letter  of  Mr.  Charles  Marks, 
the  following  passage  : 

"  In  reply  to  the  question,  'Did  you  know  that  your  brother 
thought  he  saw  you  at  this  moment  T  I  would  reply  that,  as 
far  as  I  remember,  I  had  no  feeling  that  my  brother  was  see- 

403 


THE    UNKNOWN 

ing  me.  I  think  that  all  my  thoughts  were  occupied  with 
what  I  was  doing.  When  getting  on  the  thwart  I  tried  to  lower 
the  sail.  Knowing  the  habits  of  my  brother  (who  is  a  man 
exceptionally  robust  and  in  good  health),  I  should  have 
thought  him  possibly  asleep  at  the  moment,  for  his  robust 
constitution  enables  him  to  go  to  sleep  whenever  he  will.  He 
can  drop  asleep  at  any  moment,  at  any  time  in  the  day,  and 
he  often  takes  a  siesta  in  the  afternoon.  While  he  lived  at 
Wallingford  he  was  a  student  in  the  scientific  school  at  Yale. 

^^0.  R.  Marks." 

All  these  accounts  prove  with  certainty  that  human  beings 
are  endowed  with  faculties  yet  unknown  to  us,  faculties  that 
permit  us  to  see  what  is  passing  at  a  distance.  Here  is  an  in- 
stance still  more  remarkable,  in  which  the  person  who  plays 
the  principal  part  not  only  saw  but  seemed  to  feel  herself 
transported  to  a  distance  in  a  sort  of  double  existence,  and 
was  seen  not  only  by  her  husband,  but  by  another  man. 

XXXVIII.  ^^On  October  3,  1863,  I  left  Liverpool  for 
New  York,  on  board  the  steamer  Oity  of  Limerick  of  the 
Inman  line,  commanded  by  Captain  Jones,  On  the  even- 
ing of  the  second  day,  after  having  passed  Kinsale  Head,  we 
encountered  a  great  storm  which  lasted  nine  days.  During 
that  time  we  saw  neither  sun  nor  stars,  nor  did  we  sight  any 
other  vessel.  The  bulwarks  were  stove  in  by  the  violence  of 
the  tempest,  one  of  the  anchors  broke  loose,  and  did  a  great 
deal  of  harm  before  it  could  be  stowed  again.  Several  big 
sails,  though  close-reefed,  were  carried  away,  and  their  yards 
were  broken. 

"  During  the  night  which  succeeded  the  eighth  day  of  the 
storm,  the  gale  was  a  little  less  violent,  and  for  the  first  time 
since  we  left  port  I  was  able  to  get  a  refreshing  sleep. 
Towards  morning  I  dreamed  that  I  saw  my  wife,  whom  I 
had  left  in  the  United  States.  She  came  to  the  door  of  my 
state-room  in  her  night-dress.  On  the  threshold  she  seemed 
to  perceive  that  I  was  not  alone ;  she  hesitated  a  little,  and 
then  came  up  to  me,  stooped  and  kissed  me,  and  after  hav- 
ing caressed  me  a  few  moments  she  quietly  withdrew. 

404 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

"  When  I  woke  up  I  was  surprised  to  observe  my  room- 
mate, whose  berth  was  over  mine,  though  I  could  not  see 
him  very  distinctly,  for  our  state-room  was  in  the  stern  of  the 
vessel,  sitting  up,  leaning  on  his  elbow  and  looking  at  me 
fixedly.  ^  You  are  a  lucky  fellow,"  he  said,  at  last,  '  to  have 
a  lady  come  to  visit  you  like  that  V  I  asked  him  to  ex- 
plain himself.  At  first  he  would  not,  but  at  last  he  told  me 
what  he  had  seen,  for  he  was  quite  awake  and  sitting  up  in 
his  berth.  It  corresponded  exactly  with  what  I  had  seen  in 
my  dream. 

"  The  name  of  my  room-mate  was  William  J.  Tait ;  he  was 
not  a  man  likely  to  be  guilty  of  a  joke.  He  was,  on  the  con- 
trary, a  grave  and  very  religious  man,  whose  word  I  cannot 
doubt. 

'^  The  day  after  we  landed,  I  took  the  train  for  Water- 
town,  where  my  wife  and  children  were  living.  As  soon 
as  we  were  alone  her  first  question  was  :  *  Did  you  receive 
my  visit  a  week  ago  on  Tuesday  ?'  'A  visit  from  you  T  I 
said.  *Why,  we  were  a  thousand  miles  at  sea."  '^I  know," 
she  said,  ^  but  it  seems  to  me  as  if  I  had  gone  to  visit 
you."  '  Impossible  !"  I  cried ;  '  tell  me  what  makes  you 
think  so." 

"  My  wife  then  told  me  that  seeing  the  great  storm  rag- 
ing, and  knowing  of  the  loss  of  the  Africa  bound  for  Boston, 
which  sailed  the  same  day  that  we  left  Liverpool  for  New 
York,  and  had  gone  ashore  on  Cape  Race,  she  had  been  very 
anxious  about  my  safety.  The  night  before,  the  same  night 
when,  as  I  have  said,  the  tempest  began  to  abate,  she  had  stayed 
awake  a  long  time  thinking  of  me,  and  about  four  o"clock  in 
the  morning  it  seemed  to  her  that  she  must  come  and  find 
me.  Crossing  the  angry  waves  of  the  vast  sea,  she  imagined 
that  she  came  to  a  black  ship,  low  in  the  water  ;  she  climbed 
on  board,  and,  going  down  the  companion-stairs,  passed 
through  the  ship  until  she  reached  my  state-room.  'Tell 
me,"  she  said,  '  are  all  the  staterooms  like  the  one  I  saw  you 
in  ?  Is  the  upper  berth  a  little  farther  back  than  the  under 
one  ?  There  was  a  man  in  the  upper  berth  who  looked 
straight  at  me,  and  for  a  moment  I  was  afraid  to  come  in, 

405 


THE    UNKNOWN 

bnt  at  last  I  came  up  to  you,   bent  over  yon,  kissed  you, 
pressed  you  in  my  arms,  and  then  I  went  away/ 

*'  The  account  given  by  my  wife  was  correct  in  all  its  de- 
tails, though  she  had  never  seen  the  steamer.  I  find  in  my 
sister^s  journal  that  we  left  Liverpool  October  4th,  reached 
New  York  October  22d,  and  were  home  on  the  23d. 

''  S.  R.   WiLMOT, 
' '  Manufacturer,  Bridgeport. " 

The  New  York  Herald  says  that  the  City  of  Limerick  left 
Liverpool  October  3d,  1865,  Queenstown  the  5th,  and  arrived 
at  her  wharf  early  on  October  23d.  It  also  tells  of  the 
great  storm,  of  the  critical  situation  of  the  steamer,  and  of 
the  shipwreck  of  the  Africa.  Inquiry  has  confirmed  in  vari- 
ous ways  this  strange  story.  Mr.  Wilmot's  sister,  who  was 
on  the  same  boat,  writes  : 

*'  On  the  subject  of  the  singular  experience  of  my  brother 
one  night  on  board  the  City  of  Limerich,  I  remember  that 
Mr.  Tait,  who  that  morning  took  me  down  to  breakfast  be- 
cause of  the  terrible  storm  which  was  raging,  asked  me  if  the 
night  before  I  had  come  in  to  see  my  brother,  whose  state- 
room he  shared.  ''No,'  I  answered.  'Why?'  'Because,' 
he  said,  *  I  saw  a  woman  all  in  white  who  came  to  see  your 
brother.' " 

Mrs.  Wilmot  also  writes  : 

^'  In  answer  to  the  question.  Did  you  see  anything  peculiar 
about  the  man  in  the  upper  berth  ?  I  must  answer  that  after 
so  long  a  time  I  cannot  speak  with  certainty  as  to  minor  de- 
tails, but  I  know  I  was  much  troubled  by  his  presence  and 
by  perceiving  that  he  was  watching  me  from  above.  I  think 
that  I  told  my  dream  to  my  mother  the  next  morning,  and  I 
know  that  all  day  I  had  a  vivid  impression  that  I  had  been 
to  see  my  husband.  This  impression  was  so  strong  that  I 
felt  myself  reassured  and  comforted,  to  my  very  great  sur- 
prise. Mrs.  S.  R.  Wilmot."  ' 

This  very  remarkable  case  deserves  particular  attention. 
It  is  rather  old.     The  account  was  probably  written  more 

'Annals  of  the  Society  for  Psychical  Research,  1891. 
406 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

than  twenty  years  after  it  took  place.  One  of  those  who  saw 
it  is  dead,  and  cannot  give  an  account  at  first-hand  of  what 
he  saw.  We  cannot  feel  certain  that  the  testimony  of  the 
witnesses  after  so  long  a  time  had  passed  is  exact,  however 
honest  it  may  be,  nor  can  we  trust  all  the  details.  Yet,  after 
all  these  reservations,  there  undoubtedly  is  a  remarkable  cor- 
respondence between  the  impressions  of  the  three  persons. 
Mrs.  Wilmot  had,  either  dreaming  or  awake,  a  vision  of  her 
husband,  and  was  able  to  make  her  way  to  him  through  the 
obstacles  that  surrounded  him.  Mr.  Wilmot  dreamed  what 
his  wife  thought,  and  Mr.  Tait,  awake,  saw  with  his  own 
eyes  what  seemed  a  dream  to  Mr.  Wilmot.  These  are  three 
inexplicable  facts  which  we  are  forced  to  admit. 

M.  Marcel  Semezies  Serizolles  reports  the  following  curious 
observations  made  on  himself : 

XXXIX.  '^In  November,  1881,  I  had  a  very  vivid  dream. 
In  it  I  was  reading  a  book  of  poetry.  I  experienced  the  ex- 
act sensations  I  was  reading  about.  I  enjoyed  it;  but  pres- 
ently I  remarked  the  coarseness  of  the  paper,  which  had 
turned  yellow,  the  very  black  and  greasy  type,  my  fingers 
turned  thick  pages,  and  the  book  became  heavy  in  my  hand. 
All  of  a  sudden,  as  I  was  turning  over  a  page,  I  woke  up, 
and  mechanically,  still  iialf  asleep,  I  lit  a  candle,  picked  up 
on  my  table  the  pencil  and  paper  I  always  keep  beside  the 
book  that  I  intend  to  read  that  evening  (that  night  it  was  a 
work  on  military  history),  and  I  wrote  down  the  two  last 
verses  I  had  just  read  in  my  dream.  I  could  not,  even  with 
violent  and  painful  efforts  of  memory,  recall  a  single  line 
with  the  exception  of  the  twelve  I  had  written  down,  which 
seemed  to  treat  of  some  question  of  metaphysics,  and  their 
sense  was  incomplete,  for  the  last  line  broke  off  without 
coming  to  a  stop.  Here  they  are  just  as  I  wrote  them  down 
in  pencil : 

"  Du  temps  oii  je  vivais  une  vie  anterieure, 
Du  temps  oti  je  menais  I'existence  meillure, 

Dont  je  ne  puis  me  souvenir, 
Alors  que  je  savais  les  effets  et  les  causes, 
Avant  ma  chute  lente  et  mes  metamorphoses 
Vers  un  plus  triste  devenir. 
407 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"  Du  temps  oil  je  vivais  les  hautes  existences, 
Dont  hommes  nous  n'avons  que  des  reminiscences 

Rapdiles  comme  des  eclairs. 
Oil  peut-Stre  j'allais  libre  ^  travers  I'espace, 
Comme  un  astre,  luissaut  voir  un  instant  sa  trace 

Dans  le  bleu  sombre  des  ethers  .  .  . 

''These  lines  cannot  be  a  reminiscence  of  my  reading.  I 
have  tried  to  find  them  in  all  kinds  of  collections  of  poetry. 
The  volume  I  was  reading  in  my  dream  seemed  to  me  never 
to  have  been  published  and  to  be  quite  unknown/' 

Here  again  are  one  or  two  cases  of  presentiments  or  divina- 
tion in  dreams : 

''About  1880  my  father  was  a  magistrate  at  Montauban, 
and  he  had  in  his  court  a  barrister  named  Laporte.  I  see 
him  now,  lean,  fair,  with  cold  eyes,  and  something  enigmatic 
about  him.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  I  was  then  a  very  young 
man,  that  these  lawyers  interested  me  very  little,  and  that 
the  only  relations  I  had  with  them  were  those  of  mere  polite- 
ness, such  as  the  son  of  a  magistrate  is  bound  to  entertain 
with  all  those  who  beiong  to  his  father's  tribunal.  In  1883 
my  father  died,  and  Laporte  was  made  judge  at  Nontron  in 
the  Dordogne.  I  paid  little  attention  to  this,  and  I  had  com- 
pletely forgotten  the  man,  when,  two  or  three  years  later,  I 
saw  in  a  dream  my  father  walking,  with  a  sort  of  moving 
cloud  beneath  his  leet,  which  seemed  to  float  among  the  other 
clouds.  My  father's  attitude,  garments,  step,  and  smile  were 
just  like  what  they  had  been  in  his  life-time.  Suddenly  I 
saw  a  form  come  from  beneath  the  clouds  and  advance  tow- 
ards him.  This  form,  by  degrees,  took  the  exact  appear- 
ance of  M.  Laporte,  and  when  the  two  shades  met  I  heard 
very  distinctly  these  words  uttered  by  my  father :  '  Tiens ! 
here  you  are,  Laporte.  So  now  it  is  your  turn !'  To  which 
Laporte  replied,  merely,  '  Yes,  it  is  I,   and  they  shook  hands. 

"A  few  days  later  I  found  in  my  mail  a  MUet  de  f aire  part 
(the  announcement  of  a  death  by  the  family  of  the  deceased). 
It  informed  me  that  M.  Laporte,  judge  at  Nontron  (Dor- 
dogne), had  died  young,  on  the  very  day  when  I  had  dreamed 
about  him. 

408 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

^^Here  is  another  case  of  the  same  kind.  Of  this  I  have 
preserved  the  date — December  18,  1894.  Dreaming  while 
asleep  I  saw  in  his  study,  looking  over  some  papers,  a  notary 
who  lived  in  a  little  town  about  ten  miles  from  the  capital  of 
the  department  where  I  was  then  living.  This  notary  had 
some  investments  in  his  hands  belonging  to  me,  and  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  coming  to  see  me  once  or  twice  a  year  at  ir- 
regular intervals  to  bring  me  the  interest.  I  repeat  that  his 
visits  had  no  fixed  date,  and  I  never  saw  this  notary — a  most 
honorable  man,  a  councillor-general,  a  mayor,  and  a  cheva- 
lier of  the  Legion  of  Honor — but  well  dressed,  and  even  ele- 
gant in  his  attire.  That  night  I  saw  him  wearing  a  long 
blue  overcoat,  with  a  black  silk  cap  upon  his  head.  The  day 
after  the  morrow,  December  20th,  early  in  the  morning,  this 
notary.  Monsieur  X.,  came  in  to  my  study,  and  presented  me 
an  unexpected  sum  that  he  said  was  due  me. 

''  *Well,'  said  I,  ''and  what  have  you  done  with  your  blue 
redingote  and  your  skull-cap  of  blue  silk  ?' 

'^  He  looked  at  me  with  the  greatest  surprise,  and  said  : 
*  How  in  the  world  do  you  know  what  I  wear  at  home  ?'  I 
told  him  my  dream,  and  he  then  owned,  not  without  aston- 
ishment, that  on  the  18th  of  December  he  had  sat  up  in  his 
study  very  late,  and  was  wearing  the  clothes  I  described.^' 

Of  these  three  dreams,  the  last  shows  eight  at  a  distance  of 
a  thing  that  was  happening  ;  the  second  is  a  sort  of  tele- 
pathic manifestation  from  a  dying  person,  but  who  did  not 
come  himself  to  the  percipient,  being  almost  a  stranger  to 
him.  It  is  perhaps  also  sight  at  a  distance,  but  of  a  very 
transcendent  kind.  The  first  seems  to  show  a  real  composi- 
tion or  invention  in  the  brain  of  the  writer,  analogous  to 
products  of  unconscious  cerebration  recorded  by  Maury, 
Condillac,  Voltaire,  Tartini,  and  Abercrombie  (pp.  325-332). 
Apropos  of  dreams,  the  following  historical  fact  has  been 
known  a  long  time  : 

XLII.  "  One  night  the  Princesse  de  Conti  saw  in  a  dream 
an  apartment  of  her  palace  ready  to  fall  down,  and  her  chil- 
dren, who  slept  in  it,  were  on  the  point  of  being  buried  in 
the  ruins.     The  image  presented  to  her  imagination  moved 

409 


THE    UNKNOWN 

her  heart  and  froze  her  blood.  In  her  fright  she  started  np 
awake  and  called  to  her  women  who  slept  in  her  dressing- 
room.  They  came  at  once  to  receive  the  orders  of  their  mis- 
tress. She  told  her  vision,  and  declared  that  she  desired 
some  one  to  go  at  once  and  bring  her  her  children.  Her 
women  quieted  her,  telling  her  the  old  proverb,  dreams  go 
by  contraries.  The  princess  insisted  that  her  order  must  be 
obeyed.  The  governess  and  the  nurse  made  believe  to  obey, 
and  then  came  back  and  told  her  that  the  young  princes 
were  fast  asleep,  and  that  it  would  be  a  pity  to  disturb  them. 
The  princess,  seeing  their  obstinacy,  and  possibly  suspecting 
their  deceit,  asked  angrily  for  her  dressing-gown.  They  could 
not  help  themselves ;  they  went  and  brought  the  young 
princes,  who  were  no  sooner  in  their  mother's  room  than  the 
wall  of  their  own  chamber  fell.^ 

Sight  at  a  distance,  without  eyes,  in  a  dream,  very  closely 
resembles  analogous  things  often  noted  by  magnetizers  in 
their  clairvoyant  subjects.  Here  is  an  example  incontesta- 
bly  true,  observed  by  several  surgeons  on  the  occasion  of  an 
operation  for  the  painless  removal  of  a  woman's  breast  dur- 
ing magnetic  sleep.     It  is  reported  by  Brierre  de  Boismont. 

XLIII.  "  Madame  Plantin,  who  was  about  sixty-four  years 
old,"  he  writes  (see  obs.  106), ''  consulted,  in  the  month  of 
June,  1828,  a  somnambulist  whom  Dr.  Chapelain  had  pro- 
cured for  her.  This  woman  told  her  of  a  tumor  forming  in 
her  right  breast  which  threatened  to  become  cancerous. 

''  The  sick  woman  passed  the  summer  in  the  country,  and 
followed  conscientiously  the  regimen  prescribed  for  her. 
She  came  back  at  the  end  of  September  to  see  Dr.  Chapelain, 
and  told  him  that  the  tumor  had  grown  considerably  larger. 
He  began  to  magnetize  her  on  the  23d  of  October  following, 
and  the  sleep  began  to  show  itself  a  few  days  later.  But 
clairvoyant  somnambulism  with  her  was  never  more  than  im- 
perfect. What  was  done  for  her  stopped  the  progress  of  the 
evil  but  did  not  cure  her.  At  last  the  breast  ulcerated,  and 
the  doctor  saw  no  hope  for  saving  her  life  but  in  removing  it. 

^  Archives  General  de  Medicine,  1829. 
410 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

M.  Jules  Cloqnet,  an  eminent  surgeon,  was  of  the  same 
opinion.  It  remained  only  to  know  what  the  patient  would 
say.  Dr.  Chapelain  succeeded  in  gaining  her  consent,  thanks 
to  the  magnetic  power  he  possessed  over  her.  He  endeavored 
with  the  whole  force  of  his  will  to  produce  insensibility  in 
the  part  to  be  operated  on,  and  when  he  thought  he  had  suc- 
ceeded he  pinched  sharply  with  his  nails  the  part  of  the 
breast  where  the  incision  was  to  be  made.  It  gave  her  no 
pain  whatever.  The  patient  did  not  know  the  precise  day 
fixed  for  the  operation,  which  was  April  12,  1829.  Dr. 
Chapelain  put  her  into  the  magnetic  state,  then  he  strongly 
magnetized  the  part  to  be  operated  on." 

Here  is  the  report  made  on  this  subject  to  the  Academic 
de  Medecine : 

"  On  the  day  fixed  for  the  operation,  M.  Cloquet,  on  ar- 
riving at  half-past  ten,  found  the  patient  dressed  and  sitting 
in  an  easy-chair  in  the  attitude  of  a  person  who  has  gone 
quietly  to  sleep.  About  an  hour  before  she  had  come  from 
mass,  which  she  regularly  attended  every  day  at  that  hour, 
and  Dr.  Chapelain  had  put  her  into  the  magnetic  sleep  on 
her  return  home.  She  had  spoken  calmly  of  the  operation  she 
was  to  undergo.  All  things  being  ready,  she  undressed  her- 
self and  seated  herself  in  a  chair.  M.  Pailloux,  an  interne  and 
student  at  the  hospital  of  Saint  Louis,  was  charged  with  the 
duty  of  giving  the  operators  their  instruments  and  making 
their  ligatures. 

'^  A  first  incision  made  from  the  arm-pit  was  directed  over 
the  tumor,  as  far  as  the  internal  outside  surface  of  the  breast ; 
the  second,  commencing  at  the  same  place,  went  round  below 
the  tumor  and  was  brought  up  to  join  the  first.  The  swollen 
gland  was  dissected  out  with  precaution,  by  reason  of  its 
neighborhood  to  the  auxiliary  artery,  and  the  tumor  was  ex- 
tirpated.    The  operation  lasted  from  ten  to  twelve  minutes. 

^*^  During  the  whole  time  the  patient  continued  to  talk  quiet- 
ly with  the  operator,  and  did  not  give  the  smallest  sign  of  pain. 
There  was  no  movement  of  her  limbs  or  of  her  features,  no 
change  in  her  breathing  or  her  voice,  nothing  even  in  her 
pulse  showed   suffering  or  even  feeling.     She  remained  in 

411 


THE    UNKNOWN 

the  same  state  of  abandon  and  impassibility  in  which  M. 
Cloquet  had  seen  her  on  his  arrival.  When  the  surgeon 
washed  the  skin  around  the  wound  with  a  sponge  wet  with 
water,  the  patient  showed  symptoms  like  those  produced  by 
tickling,  and  said  several  times,  with  a  laugh,  ^  Oh  don^'t — 
you  tickle  me/  This  lady  had  a  daughter  married  to  M. 
Lagandie.  Unfortunately  she  lived  in  the  country  and  could 
not  reach  Paris  until  several  days  after  the  operation  had  been 
performed.  Madame  Lagandie  was  magnetized,  and  when  in 
a  state  of  somnambulism  was  remarkably  clairvoyante.''* 

XLIV.  ''  M.  Cloquet  begged  Dr.  Chapelain  to  put  Madame 
Lagandee  into  the  magnetic  state,  and  then  asked  her  several 
questions  about  her  mother.  Her  answers  were  as  follows  : 
^  My  mother  has  been  very  weak  for  several  days.  She  only 
lives  by  magnetism,  which  sustains  her  artificially.  She  has 
no  vitality.'  '  Do  you  think  we  can  keep  your  mother  alive?' 
'  No,  she  will  expire  to-morrow  morning  early,  without  suffer- 
ing, without  a  death  struggle.'  ^  What  parts  of  her  are  affect- 
ed?' '  Her  right  lung  is  contracted,  and  is  shrunk.  It  is 
encircled  by  a  colloid  membrane.  It  is  swimming  in  water. . 
But  it  is  there  principally,'  added  the  somnambulist,  point- 
ing to  the  inferior  angle  of  the  shoulder  blade,  ^that  my 
mother  is  most  suffering  from.  The  right  lung  is  gone  ;  it  is 
dead.  The  left  lung  is  sound  ;  it  is  by  means  of  that  that  my 
mother  lives.  There  is  a  little  water  in  the  covering  of  the 
heart  (the  pericardium).'  '  How  are  the  abdominal  organs  ?' 
*  The  stomach  and  the  intestines  are  all  right.  The  liver  is 
white  and  discolored  on  the  surface.' 

*'M.  Chapelain  magnetized  the  sick  woman  several  times 
in  the  course  of  Monday,  and  barely  succeeded  in  putting  her 
to  sleep.  When  he  came  back  on  Tuesday,  at  seven  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  she  had  just  expired.  The  two  doctors  de- 
sired to  verify  the  statements  of  the  somnambulist  concern- 
ing the  condition  of  the  interior  of  the  body,  and  obtained 
the  consent  of  the  family  to  make  the  autopsy.  M.  Moreau, 
secretary  to  the  department  of  surgery  at  the  academy,  and 
Dr.  Brousart  were  invited  to  be  present.  The  autopsy  was 
conducted  by  Dr.   Cloquet,  and   his  assistant,  M.  Pailloux, 

412 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

with  the  help  of  Dr.  Chapelain,  who  put  Madame  Lagandee 
to  sleep  a  little  before  the  time  fixed  for  the  autopsy.  I  will 
not  report  a  scene  of  the  most  touching  tenderness  and  filial 
piety  during  which  the  daughter  bathed  her  mother's  dead 
face  with  her  tears. 

^'  Dr.  Chapelain  hastened  to  calm  her.  The  doctor's  wished 
to  hear  from  her  own  lips  what  she  had  before  said  she  had 
seen  in  Madame  Plantin's  body,  and  the  somnambulist,  in  a 
firm  voice,  and  without  hesitation,  repeated  what  she  had 
said  already  to  MM.  Cloquet  and  Chapelain.  The  latter 
then  took  her  into  the  salon,  which  was  next  to  the  room 
where  they  were  about  to  perform  the  autopsy,  and  saw  that 
the  door  was  tightly  closed.  Madame  Lagandee  was  still  in 
a  state  of  somnambulism,  and  notwithstanding  the  barriers 
which  separated  her  from  the  doctors,  she  followed  the 
scalpel  in  the  hand  of  the  operator,  and  said  to  persons  round 
her  :  '  Why  do  they  make  their  incision  in  the  middle  of  the 
breast,  when  the  suffusion  is  on  the  right  ?' 

^'The  indications  given  by  Madame  Lagandee  in  her  state 
of  somnambulism  were  found  to  be  exactly  correct,  and  the 
proces-verbal  of  the  autopsy  was  written  by  Dr.  Bronsart. 

^'The  witnesses  of  this  case,  adds  Brierre  de  Boismont,  are 
all  savants;  they  occupy  high  rank  in  the  medical  world. 
People  have  interpreted  their  communications  in  different 
ways,  but  no  one  has  ever  thrown  a  doubt  on  their  veracity." 

Here,  too,  is  an  incontestable  observation  of  magnetic 
sight  without  the  intervention  of  eyes.  It  is  not  less  curious 
than  the  removal  of  the  breast  without  pain,  which  we  have 
also  reported,  because  it  was  the  first  surgical  operation  per- 
formed under  the  influence  of  magnetism.  Brierre  de  Bois- 
mont adds  the  following  case  apropos  of  sight  at  a  distance  : 

XLV.  '^A  magistrate,  a  councellor  at  the  court,  told  me 
the  following  fact :  His  wife  had  a  ladies'  maid,  whose  health 
liad  long  been  delicate.  Magnetic  treatment  was  given  to 
her  secretly,  for  her  mistress  thought  that  her  charitable  in- 
tentions would  not  insure  her  from  ridicule  had  she  been 
known  to  experiment  in  magnetism.  The  lady  was  aided  by 
her  husband.     One  day,  when  the  magnetic  seance  had  been 

413 


THE    UNKNOWN 

attended  with  much  pain,  the  somnambulist  asked  for  some 
old  wine.  The  husband  took  a  light  and  went  to  get  some. 
He  went  down  to  the  first  story  without  accident,  but  the 
cellar  was  deep  under-ground ;  the  steps  were  wet,  he  slipped 
down  half  the  stairs  and  fell  on  his  back,  without,  however, 
hurting  himsell,  or  even  extinguishing  the  light  he  carried. 
In  spite  of  his  fall  he  went  on,  and  returned  with  the  wine 
wanted.  He  found  that  his  wife  knew  of  his  fall  and  of  his 
under-ground  journey.  The  somnambulist  had  told  her  about 
them  as  they  happened." 

Here  is  another  example  of  magnetic  sight  at  a  distance : 

XL VI.  '^  I  knew  the  wife  of  a  colonel  of  cavalry,  whom 
her  husband  magnetized,  and  who  became  a  somnambulist. 
During  her  treatment,  an  indisposition  caused  her  to  seek 
the  services  of  an  officer  of  her  husband's  regiment.  Some 
time  after,  in  a  magnetic  seance,  her  husband  asked  her  to  tell 
them  something  about  this  officer.     '  Ah,  poor  fellow  !'  she 

cried,  '  he  is  at  X .     He  wants  to  kill  himself.     He  has 

got  a  pistol,  run  quick  .  .  .  take  it  away  !'  The  place  she 
named  was  three  miles  off.  Some  one  at  once  set  off  on  horse- 
back, but  when  he  arrived  the  unfortunate  officer  had  com- 
mitted suicide." 

Here  is  another  curious  instance  of  clairvoyance  in  som- 
nambulism, taken  from  one  of  the  last  letters  that  answered 
my  inquiries : 

XL VII.  ^^  I  am  very  incredulous  as  to  spiritualism,  and  I 
was  very  sceptical  about  magnetism  when  the  strongest  evi- 
dence enlightened  me,  and  convinced  me  on  the  latter  point. 

^'  An  unmarried  lady,  thirty-six  years  old,  very  honorable, 
of  high  rank,  and  with  a  superior  education,  lived  in  my  fami- 
ly. She  developed  a  cystic  tumor  of  the  ovaries,  and  refused 
to  listen  to  the  doctors  who  advised  an  operation.  In  1868 
she  was  one  day  seized  with  terrible  pains,  and  Dr.  B.,  being 
called  in,  feared  a  fatal  issue  after  a  crisis  of  thirty  hours. 
He  decided  at  last  to  try  magnetism.  He  succeeded  in  put- 
ting her  to  sleep  and  in  calming  her  suffering. 

"  The  treatment,  being  continued,  seemed  to  have  great  in- 
fluence on  her  malady.     Everv  time  that  she  herself  indi- 

414 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

cated  the  day,  hour,  and  minute,  when  the  magnetic  treat- 
ment should  be  applied,  there  was  a  fresh  success.  At  very 
irregular  intervals,  more  and  more  remote  from  each  other  as 
time  went  on,  the  pains  returned. 

^'  The  doctor  noted  the  indications  that  she  gave  him  care- 
fully, in  order  to  magnetize  the  patient  before  the  attack 
came  on.     And  very  soon  she  seemed  relieved  again. 

'*  One  night,  or  rather  about  three  in  the  morning,  the  doc- 
tor was  sick  when  the  expected  attack  took  place  with  great 
severity.  The  nurse  who  was  taking  care  of  her  knew  that  I 
had  studied  magnetic  phenomena  in  the  works  of  Beleuze  and 
Baron  du  Potet,  and  suggested  to  me  to  try  to  take  the  place 
of  the  absent  doctor.  In  truth,  I  soon  succeeded  in  putting 
the  patient  to  sleep,  and  in  calming  her  agitation,  as  well,  if 
not  better,  than  the  doctor,  for  she  declared  my  magnetic 
fluid  was  more  calming  than  his.  This  is  how,  by  chance,  I 
became  acquainted  with  the  property  of  magnetism,  which  I 
had  never  imagined  before.  I  magnetized  her  regularly 
every  evening  in  the  presence  of  my  mother  and  a  large  fami- 
ly, and  we  witnessed  marvellous  phenomena  of  clairvoyance. 

*'  Notwithstanding  the  great  relief  experienced  by  the  pa- 
tient, she  realized  that  magnetism  was  only  a  means  of  sooth- 
ing her,  and  that  the  development  of  the  cyst  made  it  urgent 
that,  if  her  life  was  to  be  saved,  an  operation  should  be  per- 
formed. It  was  therefore  decided  that  Mademoiselle  de  Y. 
should  go,  accompanied  by  her  mother,  to  be  operated  upon 
at  Strasbourg  by  Dr.  Koeberle,  who  was  famous  at  that  time 
for  operations  of  this  kind.  The  length  of  such  a  journey 
for  the  poor  invalid  disquieted  the  doctor,  who  advised  that 
she  should  take  it  by  easy  stages.  But  when  she  was  con- 
sulted, she  said  she  could  take  the  whole  journey  at  once  by  ' 
observing  the  following  precautions :  It  would  be  necessary 
to  take  with  them  several  bottles  of  magnetized  water,  and 
especially  fifteen  or  a  dozen  magnetized  handkerchiefs,  which 
they  must  be  careful  to  enclose  in  stout  envelopes  of  magnet- 
ized paper,  carefully  and  hermetically  sealed  and  enclosed  in 
such  a  way  as  to  prevent  the  contact  of  any  exterior  air. 
The  patient  declared  that  as  soon  as  she  became  fatigued,  or 

415 


THE    UNKNOWN 

if  an  attack  seemed  at  hand,  her  mother  must  tear  off 
the  envelope  from  one  of  the  handkerchiefs  and  put  the 
handkerchief  to  her  forehead,  which  would  bring  on  sleep, 
and  afterwards  might  apply  it  to  her  abdomen,  where  the 
pain  was. 

*'  Notwithstanding  these  assurances,  we  all  remained  very 
uneasy  when  she  departed  with  her  mother. 

''All  passed,  however,  as  the  patient  had  foreseen.  The 
journey  was  accomplished  without  stopping,  using  the  mag- 
netized handkerchiefs  only,  and  not  having  recourse  to  the 
magnetized  water. 

"  On  reaching  Strasbourg,  the  mother  took  her  daughter 
to  the  learned  surgeon,  and  then  drawing  him  aside,  she  gave 
him  a  memorandum  that  the  doctor  (Monsieur  B.)  had  writ- 
ten down  from  the  dictation  of  the  patient.  In  her  sleep  she 
had  written  minutely  concerning  her  case.  '  My  cyst,'  she 
said,  '  is  the  size  and  color  of  the  little  yellow  balloons  that 
children  play  with.  It  contains,  not  fluid,  but  compact  mat- 
ter, which  is  brown.  On  one  of  its  sides  a  new  pocket  is  al- 
ready formed  about  the  size  of  a  very  small  orange,  and  on 
the  other  side  another  pocket  is  beginning  to  develop  itself  the 
size  of  a  little  nut.  The  cyst  is  surrounded  by  adhesions  and 
by  numerous  attachments.'  When  Monsieur  B.,  her  doctor, 
questioned  her  as  to  the  probability  of  dangerous  hemorrhage 
during  the  operation,  she  answered  that  there  was  nothing 
from  that  to  be  feared ;  but  when  they  questioned  her  as  to 
what  might  be  feared  from  septicaemia  she  grew  pale,  and 
after  a  moment's  silence,  she  replied,  '  God  only  knows.' 

''  This  was  what  the  memorandum  contained  that  was  handed 
to  Dr.  Koeberle,  who  received  it  with  irony  and  credulity,  de- 
claring that  he  did  not  believe  what  she  said,  and  he  added, 
as  a  proof  that  it  was  all  wrong :  'Your  daughter  says  that 
there  are  numerous  attachments.  Now  I  have  just  assured 
myself  by  palpation  that  there  are  very  few,  for  the  cyst 
floated  under  pressure.  You  see,  therefore,  that  what  she 
says  is  purely  imaginary.' 

''  The  operation,  however,  was  long,  and  very  difficult,  ow- 
ing to  the  great  number  of  attachments,  as  the  patient  had 

416 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

said,  and  the  septicaemia  having  made  its  appearance,  the  pa- 
tient died  on  the  third  or  fourth  day. 

"Summoned  by  the  unhappy  mother,  I  left  for  Stras- 
bourg that  I  might  be  with  her  under  this  cruel  trial. 
I  saw  with  my  own  eyes  the  correctness  of  all  that  the  patient 
had  said  concerning  the  cyst,  which,  after  the  operation,  had 
been  preserved.  I  accompanied  tlie  poor  mother  before  she 
left  to  see  the  learned  Dr.  Koeberle,  whom  I  found  absolutely 
disconcerted  by  the  minuteness  of  the  details  and  predictions 
given  by  the  patient  in  a  state  of  somnambulism.  They  had 
overthrown  all  his  ideas.  I  asked  him  particularly  how  his 
examination  by  palpation  had  made  him  suppose  there  were 
few  adhesions  when  in  reality  there  were  so  many.  He  an- 
swered :  ^  It  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  cases  I  have 
ever  known.  Evidently  the  adhesions  were  very  numerous, 
but  they  were  all  long,  which  permitted  the  cyst  to  float  un- 
der the  pressure  of  the  hand.  This  made  me  conclude  what 
was  quite  contrary  to  the  reality.  It  is  all  most  extraordi- 
nary, for  I  cannot  deny  the  perfect  exactness  of  all  the  pre- 
visions and  indications  of  the  poor  sick  woman." 
'  ''  I  do  not  know  if  Dr.  Koeberle  is  still  living,  but  the  re- 
membrance of  all  these  facts  must  be  preserved  in  the  mag- 
nificent hospital  (Maison  de  Sante),  presided  over  by  the 
nuns  (unfortunately  I  forget  the  precise  name  of  their  or- 
der), but  the  hospital  must  be  still  in  existence. 

*^  Such  are  the  facts  in  this  remarkable  case,  I  can  certify 
to  them  on  my  word  of  honor,  and  they  seem  to  me  of  a 
nature  to  be  included  in  your  dossier  from  a  point  of  view 
strictly  scientific.  C.  de  Chatellard. 

"Marseilles." 

''P.S. — You  will  permit  me  to  sign  with  an  assumed 
name,  for  I  am  very  well  known  at  Marseilles,  and  I  occupy 
a  prominent  situation,  so  that  I  should  not  wish  my  name 
to  be  mixed  up  in  any  public  controversy. 

"But  I  send  you  my  real  name  in  confidence,  in  case  yon 

should  value  my  declarations,  and  would  like  me  to  send  you 

some  others  which  seem  to  me  to  be  of  great  interest  from  a 

humanitarian  and  scientific  stand-point."  [Letter  743. 

2d  417 


THE    UNKNOWN 

The  same  correspondent  adds  : 

XLVIII.  "  One  morning  when  my  poor  friend  was  mag- 
netized, and  was  calm  and  clairvoyante,  many  of  the  usual 
experiments  in  magnetism  had  taken  place  in  the  presence 
of  a  large  family  party,  when  one  of  my  cousins  conceived 
the  idea  of  seeing  if  she  could  follow  and  meet  with  my  un- 
cle, who  had  started  two  days  before  with  his  son  Paul  on  a 
little  tour  to  visit  the  property  he  held  in  various  communes. 
The  subject,  under  the  influence  of  magnetism,  declared  she 
saw  them  in  a  tavern,  which  her  description  showed  to  be 
in  a  very  different  village  from  the  one  we  supposed.  She 
declared  that  the  father  was  talking  with  a  soldier,  and  that 
his  son  Paul  was  rocking  himself  in  a  chair  before  the  kitch- 
en fire.  Suddenly  she  burst  out  laughing  and  then  cried  : 
'  Ah !  M.  Paul  has  just  tumbled  over  backward.  Oh,  what 
funny  contortions  he  is  making!  But  he  is  not  hurt.'  Be- 
fore the  seance  broke  up,  Paul's  sister  seized  a  pen  and  wrote 
to  him  to  tell  them  the  hour  and  all  particulars  of  this 
absurd  accident.  When  the  account  came,  it  corresponded 
exactly  with  what  we  already  knew,  and  Paul  and  his  father 
were  much  puzzled  until  their  return  to  imagine  how  what 
had  happened  could  have  been  known  to  us. 

"  If  you  desire  to  verify  the  account  I  have  already  sent 
you,  either  through  Dr.  Kceberle  (if  he  is  still  living)  or 
through  the  Maison  de  Sante,  which  must  either  be  still  at 
Strasbourg  or  in  France,  I  will  send  you  in  confidence  Ma- 
demoiselle de  y.'s  real  name." 

Second  letter. 

"  Much  gratified  by  the  interest  you  have  shown,  and  the 
thanks  you  have  sent  me  for  my  communications,  I  will  sup- 
plement them  to-day,  confident  that  you  will  draw  from  what 
I  tell  you  instructive  deductions. 

'^  I  will  go  back  to  the  scene  at  the  tavern.  One  of  my 
cousins,  who  was  present,  asked  me  to  tell  the  somnambulist 
to  go  up  to  the  dining-room.  She  at  once  answered,  'No! 
not  up — there  are  three  steps  to  go  down  to  get  to  the  dining- 
room.' 

XLIX.   "  They  asked  me  to  send  the  person  magnetized  to 

418 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

chnrch,  and  ask  her  to  describe  a  series  of  beautiful  religious 
pictures.  Supposing  this  was  all  as  it  should  be,  from  the 
serious  tone  in  which  the  request  was  made,  I  transmitted  it 
to  the  person  in  a  state  of  magnetism.  I  was  astonished  at 
hearing  her  laugh  loudly  and  go  into  a  most  humorous  de- 
scription of  these  famous  pictures.  It  was  a  series  of  canvases, 
absolutely  grotesque,  daubed  by  an  inhabitant  of  the  village, 
in  which  the  grouping  and  the  design  presented  anomalies 
that  could  only  provoke  laughter.  There  was  one  long  burst 
of  merriment  from  those  present,  who  knew  the  pictures  and 
who  were  amazed  at  the  fidelity  with  which  they  were  de- 
scribed and  their  most  minute  details  given. 

'^^It  seems  right  to  draw  certain  deductions  from  the  two 
narratives  given  above,  in  a  scientific  point  of  view.  Savants 
half  convinced,  and  even  magnetizers  have  maintained  that 
in  such  cases  the  person  magnetized  could  read  such  details 
in  the  thoughts  either  of  the  magnetizer  or  some  person 
present,  which  would  exclude  the  hypothesis  of  seeing  at  a 
distance.  Now  it  was  not  in  my  thoughts  that  she  could  have 
read  these  things.  I  was  perfectly  ignorant  of  them. '  Neither 
were  they  in  the  thoughts  of  the  man  who  asked  me  to  trans- 
mit the  two  questions,  for,  though  he  may  have  known  some- 
thing of  the  fantastic  nature  of  the  pictures,  it  was  in  good 
faith  he  asked  me  to  tell  her  to  go  up  into  the  dining-room 
and  tell  us  what  she  saw  there,  and  other  members  of  the 
family  asserted  that  the  person  magnetized  was  right  when 
she  said  there  were  three  steps  to  go  down  to  get  there. 

^'During  the  long  family  meetings  in  which  I  kept  her 
asleep,  it  once  occurred  to  me  to  ask  her  what  a  remedy  was 
made  of,  which  had  a  queer  name  and  which  I  had  read  about 
in  a  pharmacopia.  She  gave  me  at  once  a  complete  descrip- 
tion of  a  plant,  with  its  successive  stages,  its  eflSorescence,  its 
genus,  its  family — in  short,  the  most  minute  botanical  descrip- 
tion. Then  she  added  :  '  This  plant  grows  on  an  island.  I 
see  it.     It  grows  in  the  islands  of  Oceania.'     When  we  came 

^  We  have  seen  both  of  these  phenomena,  thought  reading  and  sight  at 
a  distance. 

419 


THE    UNKNOWN 

to  examine  the  subject  all  these  details  were  found  correct.  I 
spent  many  evenings  writing  under  her  dictation  a  description 
of  very  many  medicinal  plants.  When  she  woke  up  I  would 
often  turn  the  conversation  casually  on  some  of  these  plants 
which  she  had  just  described,  but  she  always  seemed  to 
have  no  more  than  a  very  vague  knowledge  of  them. 

''  One  evening  I  had  been  questioning  her  about  aconite,  of 
which  she  had  given  me  a  description  and  had  pointed  out 
the  zone  in  which  it  grew.  She  sat  thinking  for  some  time, 
plunged  in  deep  thought,  from  which  1  had  some  trouble  to 
rouse  her ;  and  she  ended  by  answering  me  in  these  words, 
which  I  want  to  repeat  literally,  because  my  memory  was  so 
much  impressed  hy  them.  Kousing  herself  from  deep  medita- 
tion, she  said  :  ^  It  is  true.  I  am  not  mistaken.  But  how 
does  it  happen  that  no  one  has  yet  found  a  remedy  for  that 
frightful  disorder,  cancer  ?  I  see  the  plant  that  can  cure.  It 
comes  from  the  same  region  as  aconite.'  She  then  gave  us  an 
exact  description  of  it,  which  lasted  through  several  seances, 
adding  that  its  virtue  might  be  tested  by  innoculating  an  ani- 
mal with  it,  especially  a  dog.  The  active  principle  obtained 
from  it  by  maceration  would  produce  a  wound  very  similar  to 
cancer. 

*'  I  have  several  times  tried  to  induce  doctors  and  botanists 
to  search  for  this  plant,  but  with  no  success.  One  learned 
botanist  told  me  that  from  the  description  I  gave  him,  he 
thought  it  might  be  something  like  Oxiria  dygina. 

'^  I  here  send  you  the  literal  description  of  this  plant,  writ- 
ten down  from  the  dictation  of  the  person  magnetized.  You, 
whose  name  and  researches  in  science  do  honor  to  our  coun- 
try, will  know  better  than  I  how  to  push  such  an  inquiry  to 
the  bottom  and  to  verify  what  may  be  the  foundation  for  the 
hope  that  it  could  cure.  What  glory  you  would  add  to  your 
name  if,  like  Pasteur,  you  could  succeed  in  giving  such  an 
inestimable  benefit  to  the  human  race  ! 

"Everybody  knows  that  the  most  remarkable  clairvoyants, 
under  magnetic  influence,  sometimes  fail — especially  women, 
at  certain  times,  or  when  they  are  under  pathological  influ- 
ences.   But  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  this  lady's  afiirma- 

420 


DISTANT    SIGHT    IN    DREAMS 

tions  as  to  a  remedy  for  cancer  are  not  as  correct  as  other 
things  she  said.  Her  earnestness,  her  spontaneity,  her  long 
meditation  before  saying  what  she  did  about  it,  and  her 
ardent  desire  to  see  human  suffering  relieved,  greatly  im- 
pressed me,  and  make  me  believe  her  declarations. 

"However,  if  you  wish  to  quote  my  communications  in 
your  publications,  I  am  very  desirous  that  you  should  not 
mention  this  last,  which  is  the  only  one  I  have  sent  you  that 
has  not  been  verified." 

I  have  allowed  myself  the  privilege  of  not  abetting  the  re- 
serve of  my  honorable  correspondent,  for  I  never  could  have 
either  time  or  ability  to  occupy  myself  with  this  question, 
and  perhaps  some  doctor  or  physiologist  may  here  find  9,n  in- 
dication which  he  can  utilize  for  the  benefit  of  humanity.' 
Since  sight  at  a  distance  and  divination  are  possible,  let  us 

^Description  of  the  plant. — It  is  an  herbaceous  plant,  forming  a  bou- 
quet of  spatulated  leaves,  which  are  very  large  and  tender  ;  they  are  of 
a  green  color,  which  is  neither  very  light  nor  very  dark,  but  inclines  to 
light.  It  is  most  analogous  to  sorrel.  The  leaves  are  entirely  smooth, 
and  not  pointed  ;  they  are  thin,  and  contain  a  greenish  juice  which  is 
very  active,  and  is  found  in  yet  more  abundance  in  the  tall  stalk,  which 
is  fifty  centimetres  in  length,  about  the  thickness  of  a  finger,  and  dimin- 
ishes from  below  upward.  This  stalk  appears  in  the  midst  of  the  leaves 
at  the  time  of  efflorescence.  The  flowers,  before  they  bloom,  appear  as 
reddish  buds,  which  are  hardly  visible  ;  they  become  greenish  when  Ihey 
open,  and  extend  all  along  the  tall  stem.  This  stem  is  entirely  devoid  of 
leaves.  The  plant  grows  upon  the  slope  of  a  mountain,  probably  in 
Switzerland.  It  extends  into  the  higher  regions,  just  below  the  snow  ; 
the  Glacial  rammculus  is  found  just  above  it.  It  grows  in  a  reddish,  dry, 
and  friable  soil,  where  vegetation  is  scanty  and  stunted. 

The  stalk  resembles  that  of  sorrel ;  it  bears  flowers  once  in  the  year — 
in  June  ;  the  stalk  remains  until  the  winter,  when  it  dries  up ;  all  the 
flowers  become  little  black  seeds,  which  fall  to  the  ground,  and  the 
leaves  die  ;  the  root  remains,  and  in  the  spring  the  leaves  sprout. 

Probably  this  plant  belongs  to  the  Polygonum  family.  It  is  a  dicoty 
ledonous  plant.  Aconite  comes  from  the  same  region.  The  covering  of 
the  flower  is  reddish  before  it  opens  ;  on  blossoming  it  becomes  greenish. 
The  stem  is  entirely  covered  with  flowers.  The  flower  greatly  resembles 
that  of  Lapathum. 

Some  days  afterwards  the  lady  was  shown  a  Polygonum  alpinum  from 
the  Valais,  and  she  said:    The  plant  in  question  differs  from  this  which 

431 


THE    UNKNOWN 

disdain  nothing,  and,  collecting  all  facts  which  may  hereafter 
be  turned  to  use,  let  us  deny  nothing. 

you  show  me ;  the  flower  is  still  smaller,  thicker,  and  more  oily ;  it  does 
not  dry  up  so  easily.  In  addition,  the  plant  I  speak  of  is  greenish  while 
this  is  more  white. 

The  leaf  is  less  pointed,  and  in  partieuhir  it  is  less  woody  and  more 
herbaceous. 

Taken  altogether,  the  plant  is  thicker  in  all  its  parts,  even  in  the  ex- 
tremity.   It  approaches  more  nearly  to  the  family  of  knotgrasses. 


CHAPTER  IX 
PEEMOKITORY  DREAMS   AKD   DIVINATION"   OF  THE   FUTURE 

The  class  of  dreams  which  is  perhaps  most  curious  and 
most  difficult  of  explanation  is  that  which  shows  us  a  fact,  a 
situation,  a  state  of  affairs  not  yet  existent,  but  which  is, 
nevertheless,  completely  realized  in  a  more  or  less  distant 
future. 

This  boldly  stated  seems  absurd  and  contradictory  ;  it  does 
not,  therefore,  find  ready  acceptance  with  those  who  take  ap- 
pearances for  realities,  and  the  relative  for  the  absolute,  and 
who  do  not  comprehend  that  the  future  can  be  determined 
in  advance  by  the  connection  of  causes  and  of  successive  ef- 
fects. 

Before  entering  upon  the  philosophic  analysis  of  a  problem 
which  touches  upon  the  greatest  difficulties  concerned  in  our 
knowledge  of  material  things,  let  us  first  inquire  whether 
dreams  through  which,  in  some  way  the  future  is  revealed, 
really  exist  and  are  worthy  of  belief.  It  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  this  fact  should  be  established  at  the  beginning  of 
our  investigations,  for  to  proceed  without  it  would  be  to  in- 
dulge in  vague  speculation  which  is  a  book  of  superogation. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm  at  the  outset  that  the  occurrence 
of  dreams  foretelling  future  events  with  accuracy  must  be  ac- 
cepted as  certain.  It  is  not  fiction  with  which  we  are  con- 
cerned; nor  can  the  realization  of  this  kind  of  dream  be  ex- 
plained by  the  fortuitous  coincidences  which  we  call  chance. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  considered  dreams  which 
revealed  what  was  passing  at  a  distance  at  the  moment  of  its 
occurrence.  Analogous  facts  are  obscured  in  certain  cases  of 
hypnotism,  of  magnetism,  of  somnambulism,  and  of  spiritual- 

423 


THE    UNKNOWN 

istic  experiences.  These  experiences,  therefore,  constitute  a 
species  of  preface,  leading  up  naturally  to  the  question  we 
are  about  to  examine. 

I  will  begin  by  quoting  two  dreams  whose  absolute  authen- 
ticity I  can  vouch  for.  They  were  both  experienced  by  my 
mother  under  circumstances  which  differed  widely  in  the  two 
cases;  she  has  just  related  them  to  me  for,  perhaps,  the  twen- 
tieth time. 

'*  The  date  of  the  first  was  at  a  time  when  she  had  not  yet 
come  to  Paris.  My  parents  lived  in  the  small  town  of  Mon- 
tigny-le-Koi  (Haute-Marne).  I  had  begun  my  studies  at 
Langres,  and  they  had  decided  to  leave  the  country  for  the 
capital,  actuated  above  all  by  the  desire  to  open  to  their 
children  the  most  secure  and  most  promising  career.  A  fort- 
night before  their  departure  my  mother  dreamed  that  she  had 
arrived  in  Paris,  and  that  she  crossed  the  wide  streets  and 
reached  a  canal,  across  which  there  was  an  elevated  bridge. 
Some  little  time  after  her  actual  arrival  in  Paris,  she  went  to 
pay  a  visit  to  one  of  her  relations  who  lived  in  the  Rue  Fon- 
taine-au-Roi,  in  the  Fauhourg  du  Temple,  and  upon  reaching 
the  canal  she  was  very  much  surprised  to  recognize  the 
bridge,  the  quay,  the  whole  appearance  of  the  neighborhood, 
of  which  it  was  impossible  that  she  could  have  had  any 
knowledge,  either  by  means  of  pictures  or  in  any  other  way. 

*'  This  dream  is  very  difficult  to  explain.  It  would  seem  to 
prove  that  the  mind  is  able  to  see  at  a  distance,  and  during  the 
night,  details  which  conform  by  day  to  the  image  remaining 
in  the  brain.  This,  however,  is  hard  to  believe.  I  should 
prefer  to  suppose  that  persons  who  had  come  from  Paris  had 
told  my  mother  of  the  existence  of  this  kind  of  bridge,  and 
that  she  had  forgotten  their  account  which  reappeared  in  the 
dream.  But  my  mother  affirms  positively  that  no  one  ever 
spoke  to  her  of  either  the  Paris  canal  or  the  suspension 
bridges. 

^'  Here  is  her  second  dream: 

''  During  a  certain  summer,  one  of  my  sisters  had  gone 
with  her  husband  and  her  children  to  live  in  the  little  town 
of  Nogent  (Haute-Marne)  ;  my  father  had  accompanied  them 

424 


PREMONITORY     DREAMS 

and  my  mother  remained  in  Paris.  All  the  children  were  in 
good  health,  and  no  one  felt  any  uneasiness  in  regard  to  them. 
My  mother  dreamed  that  she  received  a  letter  from  my  father, 
in  which  she  read  this  sentence  :  ^  I  am  the  bearer  of  a  sad 
piece  of  news  ;  little  Henri  has  just  died  in  convulsions, 
with  hardly  any  previous  illness/  My  mother,  on  awakening, 
said  to  herself  :  '  It  is  nothing  but  a  dream ;  it  is  all  imag- 
ination and  deception/  A  week  afterwards  a  letter  from 
my  father  contained  precisely  this  very  phrase.  My  poor 
sister  had  just  lost  her  youngest  child  in  consequence  of 
convulsions. 

"  In  the  former  of  these  two  dreams,  it  is  possible,  as  we 
said  before,  to  find  an  explanation,  as  a  last  resort,  in  infor- 
mation forgotten  but  latent  in  the  brain.  This  is,  however, 
extremely  improbable,  since  my  mother  is  sure  that  she  never 
heard  of  such  bridges.  But  as  regards  the  second  dream, 
what  explanation  can  be  given  ?" 

My  lamented  friend.  Dr.  Macario,  the  author  of  a  valuable 
work  on  Le  So?mneil,  les  Reves  et  le  Somnamhulisine,  of  which 
I  have  already  spoken,  writes  the  following  fact  which  hap- 
pened in  his  family  : 

''  Madame  Macario,  he  said,  set  out  on  the  6th  of  July, 
1854,  for  Bourbon-rAuchambault,  in  order  to  take  baths  for 
a  rheumatic  affection.  One  of  her  cousins,  Monsieur  0.,  who 
lives  at  Moulins,  and  who  is  in  the  habit  of  dreaming  that 
things  which  are  a  little  unusual  happen  to  him,  had  the  fol- 
lowing dream  on  the  night  preceding  my  wife's  journey  :  He 
saw  Madame  Macario,  accompanied  by  her  little  girl,  take 
the  railroad  to  reach  the  watering-place  at  Bourbon.  When 
he  awoke,  he  begged  his  wife  to  prepare  to  receive  two  cous- 
ins whom  she  did  not  yet  know. 

*^ '  They  will  arrive  this  very  day  at  Moulins,'  he  added, 
*  and  they  will  set  out  this  evening  for  Bourbon.  I  hope  they 
will  not  fail  to  come  and  see  us.' 

'^  My  wife  and  my  daughter  did  actually  arrive  at  Moulins 
at  the  time  expected  ;  but,  as  the  weather  was  very  bad  (it 
rained  in  torrents),  they  went  to  the  house  of  a  friend,  which 
was  near  the  railway  station,  and  (as  time  failed  them)  they 

425 


THE    UNKNOWN 

did  not  go  to  call  on  their  cousin,  who  lived  in  a  very  distant 
part  of  the  town.     He  was  not  at  all  discouraged. 

"  '  They  will  come  to-morrow/  he  thought. 

''  But  this  time,  also,  he  was  deceived  in  his  expectations. 

*'  We  have  already  remarked  that  Monsieur  0.  was  in  the 
habit  of  having  his  dreams  come  true  ;  and  being,  therefore, 
persuaded  that  the  information  contained  in  his  dream  was 
correct,  he  went  to  the  office  of  the  diligence  that  ran  be- 
tween Moulins  and  Bourbon,  in  order  to  inquire  whether  a 
lady,  whom  he  described,  with  her  daughter,  had  not  set  out 
for  Bourbon.  He  received  an  affirmative  answer.  He  then 
asked  whether  the  lady  had  stopped  at  Moulins,  and  learned 
that  all  the  particulars  of  his  dream  were  correct. 

''  Before  I  conclude,  may  I  be  permitted  to  remark  that 
Monsieur  0.  had  no  knowledge  of  either  the  illness  or  the 
journey  of  Madame  Macario,  whom  he  had  not  seen  for  sev- 
eral years.  "^  ^ 

The  doctor  adds,  in  this  connection,  the  following  fact : 

''On  Thursday,  the  7th  of  November,  1850,  at  the  moment 
when  the  coal -miners  at  Belfast  were  about  to  begin  their 
work,  the  wife  of  one  of  them  advised  him  to  examine  care- 
fully the  ropes  of  the  basket,  or  cage,  in  which  he  was  about 
to  descend  to  the  depths  of  the  pit. 

'' '  I  dreamed,'  she  said,  '  that  they  cut  it  during  the  night.' 

"The  miner  did  not,  at  first,  attach  great  importance  to 
this  advice  ;  nevertheless,  he  communicated  it  to  his  com- 
rades. They  unrolled  the  descending  cable,  and  there,  to  the 
great  surprise  of  all,  they  found  it  hacked  in  several  places. 
Some  moments  later  the  workmen  would  have  gotten  into  the 
basket,  from  which  they  would  inevitably  have  been  thrown ; 
and,  if  the  Neiccastle  Journal  is  to  be  believed,  they  owed 
their  safety  to  this  dream." 

'  Without,  for  a  moment,  doubting  the  absolute  sincerity  of  Dr.  Ma- 
cario, which  I  have  proved  under  all  circumstances,  I  must  remark  that 
it  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  this  Monsieur  O.  was  too  much  prej- 
udiced to  venture  to  sign  his  observations  and  convictions.  What  rea- 
son can  there  be  for  such  narrowness  of  mind  ?  What  is  there  in  this 
dream  which  could  compromise  an  honest  man  ? 

426 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

At  the  time  of  my  entrance  into  journalism,  in  Paris,  I  had 
for  my  colleague,  on  the  Si^cle,  a  charming  writer  and  a  very 
interesting  man,  whose  name  was  £mile  de  la  Bedolliere.  His 
marriage  had  been  the  result  of  a  premonitory  dream. 

"In  a  little  town  in  the  centre  of  France,  at  La  Charite- 
sur-Loire,  department  of  the  Nievre,  there  was  a  young  girl 
of  ravishing  grace  and  beauty.  She,  like  Raphael's  Fornarina, 
was  the  daughter  of  a  baker.  Several  suitors  aspired  to  her 
hand,  one  of  whom  had  a  great  fortune.  The  parents  pre- 
ferred this  young  man.  But  Mademoiselle  Angela  Robin  did 
not  like  him,  and  refused  him. 

"  One  day,  driven  to  extremity  by  the  persistence  of  her 
family,  she  went  to  church  and  prayed  the  Holy  Virgin  to 
come  to  her  aid.  The  following  night  she  saw,  in  a  dream, 
a  young  man  in  the  dress  of  a  traveller,  wearing  a  large  straw 
hat  and  spectacles.  On  awakening,  she  declared  to  her  pa- 
rents that  she  absolutely  refused  her  suitor,  and  that  she 
should  wait,  which  caused  them  a  thousand  conjectures. 

"  The  following  summer  the  young  Emile  de  la  Bedolliere 
was  induced  by  one  of  his  friends,  Eugene  Lafaure,  a  law 
student,  to  make  a  journey  into  the  interior  of  France.  They 
stopped  at  La  Charite,  and  went  to  a  subscription  ball.  On 
their  arrival  the  young  girFs  heart  beat  tumultuously,  her 
cheeks  colored  a  deep  red ;  the  young  traveller  observed  her, 
admired  her,  loved  her,  and  some  months  afterwards  they 
were  married.  It  was  the  first  time  in  his  life  that  he  had 
visited  that  village." 

This  curious  matrimonial  history  is  not  unique.  I  could 
cite  several  others  which  are  similar,  and  I  do  not  think  I 
am  indiscreet  in  adding  that  one  of  our  most  celebrated  con- 
temporary astronomers,  M.  Janssen,  was  seen  in  a  dream  by 
Madame  Janssen  a  long  time  before  they  were  introduced  to 
each  other. 

Alfred  Maury  cites  a  similar  case,  but  he  explains  it  by  his 
theory  of  images  in  the  memory.  This  certainly  does  not 
apply  to  the  marriage  of  De  la  Bedolliere,  and  it  undoubtedly 
cannot  be  applied  to  the  one  in  question.  "  Monsieur  P.,"  he 
writes,  "an  old  librarian  of  the  legislative  corps,  has  assured 

427 


THE    UNKNOWN 

me  that  he  saw  in  a  dream  the  woman  whom  he  married  al- 
most immediately  after;  and  that  she  was,  nevertheless,  un- 
known to  him,  or  at  least  he  felt  confident  that  he  had  never 
actually  seen  her  ;  this  is,  in  all  probability,  a  case  of  uncon- 
scious memory.'' 

The  error  of  theorists  is  that  they  wish  to  explain  every- 
thing, to  confine  everything  within  the  limits  they  themselves 
have  set.  In  all  probability,  in  the  light  of  our  new  psychic 
investigations,  Alfred  Maury  here  deceives  himself. 

M.  A.  Goupil,  civil  engineer  at  Cognac,  has  communicated 
to  us  the  following  fact : 

*'At  Tnnis,  between  the  post  office  and  the  Cafe  de 
France,  lives  a  French  hair-dresser,  whose  name  I  have  for- 
gotten. One  morning,  in  the  summer  of  1891,  I  played  a 
game  of  billiards  with  him ;  this  game  being  finished,  I  pro- 
posed a  second.  '  No,"  he  said,  '  I  am  expecting  the  doctor, 
and  I  want  to  know  what  he  has  to  say."  'Are  you,  then,  ill 
in  any  way  V  '  No,  but  I  have  a  little  nephew  whose  age  is 
— eleven  years,  I  think ;  he  had  yesterday  an  hallucina- 
tion ;  he  rose  up  all  at  once  crying :  *'Here  is  a  woman  who 
wishes  to  take  my  little  cousin  (a  little  girl  some  months 
old)  ;  I  don't  want  her  to  be  carried  off  V  This  idea  lasted 
some  little  time,  and  we  could  not  make  him  believe  that  it 
was  a  dream.'  'Is  he  subject  to  hallucinations?'  'No.' 
'  Is  he  well  ?'  '  Yes  ;  but  I  am  afraid  that  this  occurrence 
must  be  an  indication  of  a  fever.'  '  Is  your  little  girl  well  ?' 
'Yes;  very  well.'  I  put  this  last  question  because  it  had 
just  passed  through  my  head  that  the  meaning  of  the  vision 
was  that  the  little  one  was  going  to  die  before  long.  I  said 
nothing  of  my  thought  to  the  man,  however,  and  he  left  me. 
The  next  day  I  asked  him  what  news.  All  his  little  world 
was  going  on  well.  The  next  day  after  the  same  question 
and  the  same  answer  ;  the  third  day  the  same  question  and 
still  the  same  answer.  He  seemed  much  surprised  at  the 
interest  which  I  appeared  to  take  in  these  children,  whom  I 
did  not  know.  Three  days  passed  without  my  seeing  him. 
Meeting  him  the  day  following  in  the  street,  I  asked  him  if 
the  children  still  continued  well.     '  You  know,'  he  said  to 

428 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

me,  'that  we  have  lost  my  little  girl;  she  was  taken  from 
us  in  a  moment.'  (I  believe  he  said  that  it  was  from  croup.) 
'  No/  I  said,  '  I  did  not  know  it,  but  I  expected  it.'  '  Why  ?' 
'Yes;  it  was  a  woman  who  carried  her  away.'  'What 
woman  ?'  '  She  whom  your  nephew  saw  ;  she  represented 
death,  illness,  whatever  you  please ;  it  must  have  been  a 
prophetic  hallucination.' 

"  I  left  the  man  much  astonished  ;  he  could  testify  to  this 
narrative,  at  any  rate,  along  its  principal  lines,  for  he  was  very 
much  surprised  at  my  remarks,  and  he  must  remember  them." 

Can  chance  be  called  in  here  ?  No.  There  is  something 
in  all  this  which  is  unknown  to  us,  but  which  is  real. 

A  former  magistrate,  who  is  now  a  Deputy,  M.  Berard,  has 
published  a  moving  recital,  which  appeared  in  the  Revue  des 
Revues  for  the  15th  of  September,  1895 : 

''At  a  period,  about  ten  years  ago,  I  was  a  magistrate.  I 
had  just  ended  the  long  and  laborious  trial  of  a  horrible 
crime,  which  had  carried  terror  all  over  the  country ;  day 
and  night  for  several  weeks  I  had  seen  corpses,  blood,  and 
murderers,  both  sleeping  and  waking. 

"  With  my  mind  still  under  the  burden  of  these  sickening 
recollections,  I  had  gone  for  rest  to  a  little  watering-place, 
a  sleepy  village,  sad  and  dull,  without  any  flaring  casino, 
without  any  mail-coach  arrivals,  at  the  foot  of  our  richly 
wooded  mountains. 

"  Every  day  I  wandered  through  the  forests  of  oaks, 
mingled  with  which  were  beeches  and  great  tall  pines.  In 
these  wandering  excursions  it  sometimes  happened  that  I 
lost  myself  completely,  in  consequence  of  losing  sight  of  the 
tall  summits  by  which  I  was  in  the  habit  of  finding  my  way 
in  the  direction  of  my  hotel.  , 

"  Night  was  falling  when  I  emerged  from  the  forest  on  a 
solitary  road,  which  crossed  the  narrow  opening  between  two 
high  mountains;  the  descent  was  rapid,  and  in  the  gorge 
beside  the  road  there  was  only  a  little  stream,  which  fell 
over  the  rocks  towards  the  plain  in  a  multitude  of  cascades. 
On  both  sides  was  the  gloomy  forest,  wrapped  in  infinite 
silence. 

429 


THE    UNKNOWN 

^'  A  sign-post  on  the  road  indicated  that  the  town  was 
rather  more  than  five  miles  distant.  This  was  the  direction 
for  me  to  take,  but  fatigued  by  six  hours  of  walking,  and 
suffering  from  hunger,  I  was  anxious  for  a  resting-place  and 
an  immediate  dinner. 

*'A  few  yards  distant  an  humble  inn  (entirely  isolated, 
and  the  regular  stopping-place  for  wagoners)  displayed  a 
worm-eaten  sign,  'Au  eendez-yous  des  amis.'     I  entered  it. 

"The  only  room  was  smoky  and  dark.  The  host  was  of 
herculean  stature ;  his  face  was  bad,  his  complexion  yellow. 
His  wife,  who  was  small  and  dark,  was  almost  in  rags,  re- 
ceived me  on  my  arrival  with  a  sly  and  squinting  glance. 

^'I  asked  for  something  to  eat,  and,  if  possible,  to  go  to 
bed.  After  a  scanty — very  scanty — supper,  taken  under  the 
suspicious  and  very  inquisitive  eyes  of  the  host,  by  the  light 
of  a  miserable  lamp,  which  gave  miserable  light,  but  sent 
forth  smoke  and  nauseating  odors,  I  followed  the  hostess, 
who  conducted  me  through  a  long  passage  and  up  a  steep 
staircase  into  a  dilapidated  chamber,  situated  above  the 
stable.  The  host,  his  wife,  and  myself  were  entirely  alone  in 
this  forlorn  hovel  in  the  forest,  far  from  any  village. 

"I  have  a  prudence  which  is  sometimes  carried  to  the 
point  of  fear,  and  which  arises  from  my  profession,  which 
obliges  me  constantly  to  consider  past  crimes  and  possible  as- 
sassinations. I  carefully  examined  my  room  after  having 
locked  the  door.  It  had  a  bed,  or  rather  a  pallet,  two  rick- 
ety chairs,  while  almost  concealed  behind  some  hangings  was 
a  door  provided  with  a  lock  without  a  key.  I  opened  this 
door.  It  led  to  a  sort  of  ladder  which  plunged  into  empty 
space.  In  order  to  hold  the  door,  in  case  any  one  attempted 
to  open  it  from^  the  outside,  I  put  before  it  a  kind  of  table  of 
white  wood,  on  which  was  a  cracked  basin  for  toilette  pur- 
poses. Beside  this  I  placed  one  of  the  two  chairs.  Under 
these  circumstances  no  one  could  open  the  door  without 
making  a  noise.     And  then  I  went  to  bed. 

'^It  will  be  easily  believed  that  after  such  a  day  I  slept  pro- 
foundly. All  at  once  I  woke  up  with  a  start.  It  seemed  to 
me  that  some  one  was  opening  the  door,  and  that  in  opening 

430 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

it  they  pushed  the  table.  I  even  thought  that  I  perceived 
the  glimmer  of  a  lamp,  a  lantern,  or  a  candle  through  the 
key-hole.  Much  excited,  I  raised  myself  upright  in  the 
vagueness  of  a  sudden  awakening,  and  I  cried  out,  '  Who  is 
there?'  No  answer.  Silence  and  complete  obscurity.  I 
must  be  dreaming,  I  thought,  or  else  be  the  victim  of  some 
strange  illusion. 

"  For  long  hours  I  remained  sleepless,  as  if  und'er  the  in- 
fluence of  a  vague  terror.  Then  fatigue  got  the  better  of 
fear,  and  I  fell  into  a  heavy  and  uncomfortable  sleep,  inter- 
rupted by  nightmares. 

"I  believed  that  I  saw,  I  did  see  in  my  sleep,  the  chamber 
where  I  was,  and  in  the  bed  some  one,  either  myself  or  an- 
other, which  it  was  I  did  not  know.  The  secret  door  opened 
of  itself.  The  host  entered,  a  long  knife  in  his  hand.  Be- 
hind, on  the  threshold  of  the  door,  stood  his  wife,  dirty  and 
in  rags,  shading  the  light  from  the  lantern  with  her  black 
fingers.  The  host  approached  the  bed  with  a  cat-like  step, 
and  plunged  his  knife  into  the  heart  of  the  sleeper.  Then 
he  lifted  the  corpse  by  the  feet,  his  wife  took  it  by  the  head, 
and  they  both  descended  the  narrow  ladder.  But  here  oc- 
curs a  curious  detail.  The  husband  held  between  his  teeth 
the  slender  ring  which  supported  the  lantern,  and  the  two 
murderers  descended  the  narrow  stairs  by  the  dim  light  of 
the  lantern.  I  awoke  with  a  start,  in  terror,  and  with  my 
forehead  bathed  in  sweat.  The  rays  of  the  August  sun 
seemed  to  pour  into  the  room  through  the  broken  shutters. 
This,  no  doubt,  was  the  light  of  the  lantern.  I  saw  only 
the  hostess,  silent  and  cunning,  and  I  escaped  joyfully  from 
that  obscure  inn  as  if  it  had  been  the  infernal  regions,  in  or- 
der to  breathe  the  pure  air  of  the  pines  on  the  dusty  road 
under  the  blazing  sun  amid  the  cries  of  the  birds,  festive 
and  happy. 

"  I  thought  no  more  of  my  dream.  Three  years  after- 
wards I  read  in  a  newspaper  an  item  expressed  almost  exact- 
ly in  these  words  :  '  The  visitors  and  the  population  of  X- 

are  very  much  excited  by  the  sudden  and  incomprehensible 
disappearance  of  M.  Victor  Arnaud,  advocate,  who  set  out 

431 


THE    UNKNOWN 

for  a  walk  of  some  hours  about  a  week  ago,  and  never  re« 
turned  to  the  hotel.  Conjecture  has  exhausted  itself  on  this 
strange  disappearance/ 

"Why  did  some  strange  connection  of  ideas  lead  my  mind 
back  to  my  dream  at  my  hotel.  I  do  not  know,  but  this  as- 
sociation of  ideas  connected  themselves  yet  more  strongly 
when,  three  days  after,  the  same  newspaper  contained  the 
following  lines  :  *  Traces  of  M.  Victor  Arnaud  have  been 
partly  discovered.  On  the  evening  of  the  24th  of  August  he 
was  seen  by  a  wagoner  close  to  a  lonely  inn  :  '^  Au  rendez- 
vous des  Amis."  He  intended  to  pass  the  night  there  ;  the 
host  whose  reputation  is  most  suspicious,  and  who  up  to  to- 
day has  preserved  silence  in  regard  to  his  guest,  has  been  in- 
terrogated. He  claims  that  the  latter  left  him  that  same 
evening,  and  did  not  sleep  at  his  house.  In  spite  of  this  af- 
firmation strange  stories  are  beginning  to  circulate  in  the 
neighborhood.  Another  traveller  of  English  extraction  who 
disappeared  six  years  ago  is  spoken  of.  Furthermore,  a  lit- 
tle shepherdess  claims  to  have  seen  the  wife  of  the  host 
throw  some  bloody  cloths  into  a  pool  hidden  in  the  woods  on 
the  26th  of  August.  There  is  here  a  mystery  which  should 
be  elucidated.' 

"  I  could  restrain  myself  no  longer,  and  impelled  by  an  in- 
vincible force,  which  convinced  me  in  spite  of  myself  that 
my  dream  had  become  a  terrible  reality,  I  went  to  the  town. 

*■'  The  magistrates  who  had  taken  up  the  matter  in  conse- 
quence of  public  opinion  were  investigating  it  without  any 
precise  data.  I  happened  to  go  to  the  office  of  my  colleague, 
the  juge  d' instruct  ion,  on  the  very  day  that  he  heard  the 
deposition  of  my  former  hostess.  I  asked  his  permission  to 
remain  in  his  office  during  this  deposition. 

*'  The  woman  did  not  recognize  me  on  entering,  and  paid 
no  attention  whatever  to  my  presence. 

"  She  stated  that  a  traveller,  who  answered  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  M.  Victor  Arnaud,  had  really  come  to  her  inn  on  the 
evening  of  the  24th  of  August,  but  that  he  had  not  spent 
the  night.  There  were,  she  added,  only  two  chambers  in  the 
inn,  and  upon  the  night  in  question  they  had  both  been  oc- 

433 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

cupied  by  wagoners,  who  had  given  their  evidence  and  testi- 
fied to  the  fact. 

'^'^And  the  third  chamber,  the  one  over  the  stable?^  I 
cried,  interposing  suddenly. 

''The  hostess  gave  a  start,  and  appeared  to  recognize  me 
all  at  once,  as  if  I  were  a  sudden  revelation.  I  continued 
with  audacious  effrontery,  and  as  if  I  was  inspired  :  '  Victor 
Arnaud  slept  in  that  third  chamber.  During  the  night  you 
came  with  your  husband,  you  holding  a  lantern,  he  a  long 
knife  ;  you  climbed  up  by  a  ladder  from  the  stable  ;  you 
opened  a  secret  door  which  led  into  that  chamber  ;  you 
yourself  remained  on  the  threshold  of  the  door  while  your 
husband  went  to  murder  his  guest,  before  robbing  him  of  his 
watch  and  his  pocket-book.' 

''  It  was  my  dream  of  three  years  before  which  I  narrated ; 
my  colleague  listened  aghast ;  as  for  the  woman,  overpowered 
by  terror,  with  her  eyes  staring  and  her  teeth  chattering,  she 
stood  as  if  petrified. 

'''Then,'  I  continued,  'you  took  up  the  corpse,  your 
husband  holding  it  by  the  feet ;  you  descended  the  ladder 
with  it.  In  order  that  you  might  have  light,  your  husband 
carried  the  ring  of  the  lantern  between  his  teeth.' 

"  And  then  the  woman,  terrified,  pale,  with  her  legs  shak- 
ing under  her,  said  :  '  You  saw  it  all,  then  ?' 

"  Afterwards  refusing  savagely  to  sign  her  deposition,  she 
shut  herself  up  in  absolute  silence. 

"  When  my  colleague  read  my  recital  to  the  husband, 
the  latter,  believing  himself  to  have  been  betrayed  by  his 

wife,   cried  out  with  a   horrible  oath  :    '  Ah  !  the ,  she 

shall  pay  me  for  this  !' 

"  My  dream,  only  too  true,  had  become  a  gloomy  and  fear- 
ful reality. 

"In  the  stable  of  the  inn,  under  a  thick  heap  of  manure, 
the  corpse  of  the  unfortunate  Victor  Arnaud  was  found,  and 
beside  him  were  human  bones,  which  were  perhaps  those  of 
the  Englishman  who  had  disappeared  six  years  previously 
under  identical  and  equally  mysterious  conditions. 

"  And  I — had  I  been  intended  to  share  the  same  fate  ?  Dnr- 

433 


THE    UNKNOWN 

iug  the  night  when  I  dreamed,  had  I  really  heard  the  secret 
door  open,  had  I  really  seen  the  light  through  the  key-hole  ? 
Or  had  it  been  entirely  a  dream,  mere  imagination  and  lugu- 
brious presentiment  ?  I  do  not  know,  but  I  cannot  think 
without  a  certain  terror  of  the  obscure  inn,  lost  in  the  ex- 
tent of  the  high  road,  in  the  midst  of  the  pine  woods,  and 
contrasting  so  strangely  with  the  beauty  of  nature,  with  the 
brook  and  its  murmuring  cascades,  whose  tiny  drops  sparkled 
like  diamonds  in  the  sun." 

This  narrative  is  so  eloquent  that  we  may  dispense  with 
any  commentary.  We  cannot  suppose  that  its  author,  a 
former  magistrate,  invented  it  for  the  pleasure  of  writing  a 
dramatic  story,  however  admirably  told;  still,  the  thing  is  not 
impossible.  Perhaps  M.  Berard  could  himself  furnish  irre- 
futable testimony  in  corroboration  if  he  would  look  into  the 
dossier  of  the  Victor  Arnaud  affair. 

Madame  A.  Vaillant  sent  me  from  Foncquevillers  (Pas  de 
Calais)  a  curious  narrative  of  a  premonitory  dream,  and  three 
very  remarkable  cases  of  telepathy,  which  by  an  inadvertence, 
due  undoubtedly  to  the  large  quantity  of  letters  received,  I  could 
not  insert  earlier.  Without  returning  to  the  subject  of  telep- 
athy, I  would  say  that  the  first  concerns  the  precise  view  of 
a  death  which  took  place  in  1794  on  the  shores  of  the  Khine 
at  Arras.  The  second  tells  of  an  apparition  and  a  voice  heard 
at  Bapaume  by  two  separate  persons  ;  it  concerned  a  husband 
and  father  who  died  the  same  day  in  Austria  (1796).  The 
third  tells  how  a  young  girl  living  in  a  Scotch  castle  ran  down 
stairs  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  staircase  saw  her  uncle  lying 
covered  with  blood,  who  had  at  that  moment  been  murdered 
in  London  (1796).     Here  is  the  premonitory  dream. 

"  A  few  years  ago,  in  a  town  at  the  North,  a  new  vicar  was 
appointed  to  a  certain  parish.  A  person  well  known  to 
Madame  Vaillant  dreamed  some  days  before  that  this  vicar, 
who  was  a  Monsieur  G-.,  would  preach  next  Sunday  on  such 
a  subject,  that  his  sister  would  sit  before  him;  and  all  the 
particulars  in  her  dream  were  exactly  what  happened  on 
Sunday." 

Letter  103. 
434 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

Here  is  another  premonitory  dream,  reported  by  an  honora- 
ble ecclesiastic. 

''  I  was  at  school  in  Niort.  I  was  fifteen  or  sixteen  years 
old.  One  night  I  had  a  singular  dream.  I  fancied  that  I 
was  at  Saint  Maixent  (a  town  that  I  only  knew  by  name) 
with  my  school-master.  We  were  on  a  little  square  near  a 
well,  opposite  to  which  was  a  drugstore,  and  we  saw  coming 
towards  us  a  lady  of  that  place, 
whom  I  recognized,  because  I  had 
seen  her  once  at  Niort,  in  a  house  ^ 

where  I  was  staying.     This  lady   fj^  ^/t 

when  she  accosted  ns  began  to 
speak  of  such  extraordinary  things 
that  in  the  morning  I  mentioned 
the  matter  to  my  master.  (The  head  of  that  school  was 
called  le  patron.)  He  was  very  much  astonished,  and  made 
me  repeat  the  conversation.  A  few  days  after,  having  to  go 
to  Saint  Maixent,  he  took  me  with  him.  Hardly  had  we  ar- 
rived there  before  we  found  ourselves  on  the  square  that  I 
had  seen  in  my  dream,  and  we  saw  the  same  lady  coming 
towards  us,  who  had  with  my  master  the  same  conversation, 
word  for  word,  as  in  my  dream. 

'^Groussard, 
"  Cure  of  Sainte  Radegonde." 

One  does  not  see  how  chance  could  have  had  anything  to 
do  with  such  a  precise  premonition. 

My  inquiry  has  brought  in  great  number  of  premonitory 
dreams.  I  have  classed  them  by  themselves,  and  I  will  ask 
my  readers  to  permit  me  to  here  quote  the  principal  ones,  and 
add  them  to  the  preceding,  in  order  that  they  may  have  in 
their  hands  all  the  pieces  de  conviction. 

XII.  "  I  will  introduce  myself  as  Pierre  Jules  Barthelay, 
born  at  Yssoire,  Puy-de-D6me,  on  October  25, 1825,  a  former 
pupil  in  the  Lycee  at  Clermont,  priest  in  the  diocese  of  Cler- 
mont in  1850,  vicar  for  eight  years  at  Saint  Eutrope  (Cler- 
mont), and  three  times  made  an  army  chaplain  by  the  Minis- 
try of  "War. 

435 


THE    UNKNOWN 

^'  (1)  After  three  years  of  laborious  ministry  I  was  very 
much  worn  ont,  all  the  more  because  I  had  to  serve  as  super- 
intendent over  the  construction  of  the  beautiful  church  of 
Saint  Eutrope  at  Clermont.  For  four  years  I  looked  after  the 
workmen  from  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  from  the  water  in 
the  foundation  to  the  cross  on  the  top  of  the  steeple.  I  put 
the  three  last  slates  on  the  roof.  Our  professor,  M.  Vincent, 
in  order  to  give  me  a  change,  made  me  come  to  Lyons,  where 
I  had  never  been.  One  of  the  first  days  I  was  there  he  said  at 
breakfast :  '  M.  TAbbe,  will  you  accompany  me  ?  I  am  going 
to  see  our  forests  at  Saint- Just -Doizieux.'  I  accepted  his 
invitation.  We  started  in  a  carriage.  After  having  passed 
Saint-Paul-en-Jarret,  I  uttered  an  exclamation:  'Oh!  but  I 
know  all  this  country!'  and  in  fact  I  would  have  gone  all  over 
it  without  a  guide.  About  a  year  before  I  had  seen  in  my 
sleep  all  these  little  terraces  made  of  yellow  stone. 

*'  (2)  I  returned  to  my  diocese,  but  was  sent  to  the  moun- 
tains in  the  West  to  fulfil  a  difficult  mission,  which  was  too 
great  for  my  strength.  I  was  ill  seven  months  at  Clermont. 
At  last,  being  on  my  legs  again,  they  sent  me  to  the  Hospi- 
tal of  Saint-Ambert,  to  take  the  place  of  the  Chaplain,  who 
had  had  congestion  of  the  brain.  The  railroad  to  Saint-Am- 
bert was  not  then  built,  so  I  took  my  place  in  the  coujpe  of  the 
diligence  which  ran  between  Clermont  and  Ambert.  After 
passing  Billom,  I  looked  to  the  right,  and  recognized  tlie  lit- 
tle castle,  with  its  avenue  of  willoivs,  as  well  as  if  I  had  lived 
there.  I  had  seen  it  in  my  sleep  as  much  as  eighteen  months 
before. 

*' (3)  We  were  in  Vannee  terrible.  My  mother,  who  had 
seen  the  allies  marching  through  the  streets  of  Paris,  is  a 
widow.  She  claims  me  as  the  prop  of  her  old  age.  They 
gave  me  a  little  parish  near  Yssoire.  The  first  time  I  went 
to  see  a  sick  parishioner,  I  found  myself  in  narrow  lanes  be- 
tween high,  dark  walls,  but  I  could  perfectly  find  my  way.  I 
had,  in  my  sleep,  some  months  before,  passed  through  this 
network  of  dark  alleys. 

"(4)  Events,  quite  independent  of  my  will,  took  me  to 
Riom ;   there  I  presumed  I  should    feel  as  if  I  were  in  a 

436 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

strange  country.  What  was  my  surprise  to  find  an  old  ac- 
quaintance in  the  chapel  that  my  colleague,  the  Abbe  Faure, 
had  built  for  the  soldiers.  I  had  never  seen  it  with  my  eyes, 
and  had  not  even  known  that  it  existed  !  I  made  a  drawing 
of  it,  which  I  send  you,  as  if  I  were  still  employed  in  superin- 
tending ecclesiastical  architecture. » 

''Berthelay. 
"Riom(Puy-de-D6me)."         Letter  19. 

XVI.  "  At  the  beginning  of  September,  1870,  at  the  water- 
ing-place of  Weymouth  (England),  I  was  awakened  about  two 
o^clock  in  the  morning,  between  a  Thursday  and  a  Friday, 
by  a  mysterious  voice,  which  said,  very  distinctly,  *  Jump  out 
of  bed  and  pray  for  those  at  sea.^  Almost  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, the  Captain f  a  first-class  English  iron-clad,  was  lost  in 
the  Bay  of  Biscay.  Three  hundred  men  were  drowned.  The 
rest  of  the  squadron  came  safe  into  Portland  Roads,  near 
Weymouth.  The  public  being  permitted  to  go  on  board  and 
inspect  these  vessels,  I  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity, 
and  so  did  my  brother.  Seven  years  later,  September  9, 1877, 
this  brother  himself  perished  in  the  wreck  of  the  Avalanche, 
in  the  same  Portland  Roads. 

''  Mary  C.  Deutschemdaff, 
"  Wife  of  the  Protestant  Pastor  at  Charleville  (Ardennes)." 
Letter  29. 

XVII.  "  The  following  fact  was  related  to  me  by  one  of 
my  old  comrades,  now  ninety  -  one  years  of  age,  who  was  a 
matter-of-fact  person,  and  in  no  way  inclined  to  mysticism. 

''  One  evening,  about  1835,  he  was  at  work  in  his  chamber, 
at  Strasbourg.  Suddenly  he  had  a  very  distinct  vision  of 
Morey,  his  native  village.  The  street  on  which  his  father's 
house  stood  presented  an  animation  unusual  at  that  hour,  and 
he  recognized  several  persons,  among  whom  was  a  relation 
carrying  a  lantern. 

**  *Some  days  after  this,'  he  told  me,  '  I  received  news  of 

^This  letter  was  accompanied  by  four  drawings  of  landscapes  and 
buildings  seen  in  dreams. 

437 


THE    UNKNOWN 

my  mother's  death,  which  had  happened  that  same  e\ening, 
and  in  2^^cse?ice  of  the  very  persons  I  had  seen,  Wliat  was 
more  singular,  it  was  my  mother's  mother  who  had  held  the 
lantern/ 

'^  Such  facts,  no  doubt,  are  at  present  inexplicable,  but  that 
is  no  reason  why  we  should  treat  them  scornfully.  Let  us 
seek  and  wait.  The  future  has  many  surprises  in  store  for 
us,  and  will  throw  light  on  many  mysteries. 

"  What  is  it  in  us  that  thinks  ?  We  undoubtedly  do  not 
know,  but  we  can  suppose  that  it  may  correspond  to  a  certain 
determined  number  of  vibrations.  Let  us  say,  if  you  like,  a 
million  of  quintillions  per  second.  The  brain  v/hich  emits 
these  vibrations  is  at  the  same  time  transmitter  and  receiver. 
It  is  possible  that,  under  the  influence  of  intense  excitement, 
these  vibrations  may  be  capable  of  carrying  impressions  to 
an  enormous  distance  and  acting  upon  other  nervous  cells. 

'*^And  if  the  phenomena  of  telepathy  are  above  all  pro- 
duced by  the  dying,  we  know  that  often,  as  the  last  moment 
draws  near,  the  brain  exhibits  extraordinary  activity.  On  the 
other  hand  those  who  receive  impressions  are  generally  such 
as  are  sensitive,  nervous,  and,  in  one  word,  impressionable. 
In  short,  affection,  hatred,  or  anxiety,  may  assist  in  putting 
two  persons  who  feel  alike  into  a  state  of  cerebral  iso- 
chronism. 

'^Without  falling  into  the  domain  of  the  supernatural  or 
the  impossible,  a  day,  perchance,  may  come — but  as  yet  it 
seems  far  off — when  men  will  look  upon  the  telephone  and  the 
telegraph  as  primitive  and  barbarous  means  of  holding  inter- 
course at  a  distance.  These  men  may,  by  the  force  of  their 
own  Avills,  send  their  thoughts  through  space.  That  will  be 
indeed  an  upheaval  for  an  ancient  world. 

*'De.  Deve. 

"  Fouvent-le-Haut,  Haute  Seine." 

Letter  26. 

XVIII.  "  Last  year,  in  the  month  of  September,  I  had,  one 
night,  a  distinct  vision  of  the  funeral  of  a  child,  which  left  a 
house  in  which  I  knew  the  inhabitants ;  only  in  my  dream  I 
could  not  tell  which  of  the  children  it  might  be. 

438 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

"  The  dream  stayed  in  my  memory  all  day;  I  tried  in  vain 
to  get  it  out  of  my  head,  when  in  the  evening  one  of  the 
children  living  in  that  house,  a  child  of  the  age  of  four,  fell 
accidentally  into  a  water-tank  and  was  drowned. 

"i^MILE   BOISMARD. 

"  Seiches,  Maine-et-Loire." 

Letter  53. 

XIX.  "  My  oldest  brother,  ]6mile  Zipelius,  an  artist,  died 
on  September  16,  1865,  twenty -five  years  of  age;  he  was 
drowned  while  bathing  in  the  Moselle.  He  lived  in  Paris, 
but  he  was  then  visiting  his  parents  at  Pompey,  near  Nancy. 
My  mother  had  dreamed  twice,  at  wide  intervals,  that  this 
son  would  be  drowned. 

"  When  the  person  charged  to  bear  the  terrible  news  to  his 
parents  came  to  inform  them,  my  mother,  feeling  sure  that 
he  came  to  announce  some  misfortune,  first  asked  could  it  be 
anything  about  an  absent  daughter,  from  whom  she  had  had 
no  news  for  several  days.  When  he  told  her  that  it  was 
nothing  about  her  daughter,  she  said  :  '  Don't  tell  me,  then. 
I  know  what  it  is.  My  son  is  drowned.'  We  had  had  a  let- 
ter from  him  that  same  day,  so  that  nothing  could  have  led 
us  to  foresee  such  a  catastrophe. 

"  My  brother  himself  had  said  to  his  concierge  a  short 
time  before :  '  If  any  night  I  do  not  come  home,  go  next 
day  to  the  morgue  and  look  for  me.  I  have  a  presentiment 
that  I  shall  die  in  the  water.  I  dreamed  that  I  was  under 
water,  dead,  with  my  eyes  open.'  That  was  just  how  they 
found  him.  He  had  died  under  water  from  the  rupture  of 
an  aneurism.  My  mother  and  father  were  convinced  that 
that  was  how  he  would  meet  his  death.  That  same  day  he 
had  at  first  refused  to  bathe  in  the  Moselle,  but  towards 
evening  he  was  tempted  by  the  coolness  of  the  water,  and  was 
thus  taken  away  from  all  who  loved  him. 

''  J.  Vogelsang  Zipelius. 

"Mulhouse."  Letter  127. 

XX.  "  Several  years  ago,  for  six  months  I  dreamed,  at 
least  once  a  week,  that  I  was  obliged  to  leave  my  children  by 

439 


THE    UNKNOWN 

themselves  while  I  went  out  to  work  in  an  office,  to  which  1 
had  to  run  for  fear  of  being  late;  and  the  fatigue  and  the 
anxiety  would  wake  me,  when  I  would  perceive  with  pleasure 
that  it  was  nothing  but  a  foolish  dream,  and  that  through  my 
husband,  who  had  then  a  good  position,  we  had  a  modest 
competence,  enough  for  our  needs. 

'*^Alas!  before  the  year  was  out  my  dream  became 
reality.  Letter  151.  Claire." 

XXI.  ''On  the  25th  of  November,  1860,  having  gone  out 
to  sea  in  a  fishing-boat,  about  four  in  the  afternoon,  we  were 
coming  back,  and  were  not  twenty  yards  from  shore,  when 
one  of  my  friends  owned  to  me  that  in  a  dream  the  night  be- 
fore he  had  been  warned  that  he  would  be  drowned  that 
day. 

''I  reassured  him,  telling  him  that  in  ten  minutes  we 
should  be  on  land. 

''A  few  moments  after  this  our  boat  capsized,  and  two  of 
my  friends  were  drowned,  one  of  whom  was  the  one  alreaxly 
mentioned.  We  did  all  we  could  to  save  them.  The  broth- 
er of  my  friend,  L.  (the  man  who  dreamed  the  dream)  is  still 
a  lawyer  at  Havre,  where  the  sad  accident  took  place.  (You 
could  consult  the  Havre  newspapers  of  November  26,  1860.) 

''  E.  B. 

"  78  Rue  de  Phalsbourg,  Havre." 

Letter  194. 

XXII.  (A)  "  One  day  last  April,  when  I  was  occupied 
studying  the  subject  of  chalk,  I  dreamed  that  I  found  a  pol- 
ished pebble  in  the  chalk-pit  of  Brocles,  near  Bernot.  I  had 
made  arrangements  to  go  next  day  to  see  this  pit,  and,  while 
I  was  exploring  it,  I  was  very  much  surprised  to  find  a  pebble 
exactly  corresponding  to  the  one  I  had  seen  in  my  dream. 
Such  stones  are  very  uncommon  in  chalk. ^ 

(B)  ''  A  few  years  ago  (also  in  a  dream),  I  witnessed  the 
discovery  of  a  great  number  of  Gallo-Roman  remains  in  a  spot 
near  the  village  of  Sissy.     This  spot  had  just  been  chosen  for 

^  Possibly  this  was  a  case  of  unconscious  cerebration.   Nevertheless  .  .  . 

440 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

the  site  of  a  new  cemetery.  In  one  of  the  first  trenches  dug, 
the  laborers  found  a  pot,  which  they  sent  me.  It  was  a  Gallo- 
Roman  pot,  and  it  was  soon  discovered  that  the  new  cemetery 
was  laid  out  over  ancient  Gallo-Roman  graves. 

*'Alphonse  Rabelle, 

"Druggist. 
»Ribemont,Ai8ne."  Letter  232. 

XXIV.  "  I  have  been  warned  twice,  at  different  times,  by 
dreams,  of  the  impending  death  of  persons  whom  I  knew  only 
ty  sight,  and  whose  decease,  as  it  happened  the  day  before  or 
the  same  night  as  my  dream,  I  heard  of  the  next  morning, 
with  all  its  particulars,  told  almost  in  the  very  words  I  had 
heard  in  my  dream.  In  both  cases  I  had  not  known  that  the 
persons  who  died  were  ill,  and  both  were  people  in  whom  I 
took  no  interest  whatever.  M.  Lorilliard. 

"Przemysl  (Poland)."  Letter  248. 

XXV.  '^  I  was  eighteen  when  my  poor  father  died  from  a 
sudden  attack  of  ilbiess.  Two  weeks  before  his  death  I 
dreamed  that  I  saw  him  in  his  chamber,  lying  on  his  bed, 
dressed,  and  dead,  while  around  the  bed  vf  ere  five  persons,  all 
intimate  friends  of  the  family,  who  were  watching  him.  These 
were  the  same  five  persons  who  watched  his  corpse  the  first 
night  after  his  decease.  This  very  strange  coincidence  long 
left  me  under  an  impression  of  profound  emotion. 

'^P.  B. 
-Marseilles."  Letter  251. 

XXVI.  "Three  days  (just  the  time  it  takes  for  a  letter  to 
reach  us  from  St.  Petersburg)  before  I  heard  of  the  death  of 
the  sister  of  the  painter  Vereschagin,  I  saw,  in  a  dream,  her 
husband,  and,  being  surprised  to  see  him  alone,  I  asked, 
'  Where  is  Marie  Vasilievna  ?'  He  answered  me  distinctly, 
*  She  is  at  rest,'  which  means  elle  repose.  J.  Mottu. 

*'  Scale  House,  Ambleside,  Westmoreland." 
Letter  252. 

XXVII.  ''  When  my  wife  (a  young  girl  then)  was  taking 
care  of  her  mother,  she  took  little  rest  either  by  night  or  day. 

441 


THE    UNKNOWN 

One  night,  the  last,  during  a  brief  and  unrefreshing  sleep,  she 
saw  her  mother,  in  a  dream,  \7ho  said  to  her,  ^You  will  lose 
me  at  eleven ' :  and  the  prediction  was  fulfilled  at  that  very 
hour.  My  wife  did  not  mention  this  dream  to  any  one  until 
after  the  first  days  of  mourning ;  there  is  therefore  no  proof 
of  it  but  her  word,  in  which  I  believe  blindly. 

"If  you  think  it  desirable  to  print  this  fact  for  your  readers, 
I  should  prefer  (having  told  you  who  I  am)  that  my  name 

should  not  be  given.  X , 

"  Lieutenant  in  the  Navy. 

"Rochefort." 

Letter  261. 

XXVIIL  (A)  "  In  1858  (I  am  no  longer  young)  I  was  at 
Terrasson  (Dordogne),  employed  in  building  the  railroad  from 
Perigueux  to  Brive.  Another  employe  on  the  road,  who  came 
from  the  Hautes-Alpes,  said  to  me  one  morning,  with  a  very 
troubled  air,  that  during  the  night  he  had  seen  a  phantom 
in  which  he  recognized  his  father.  Two  days  later  he  re- 
ceived a  letter  with  a  black  edge,  which  told  him  that  his 
father  had  died  the  very  night  that  he  saw  the  apparition. 

(B)  ''In  1885  I  was  at  Perigueux  with  my  family.  My 
wife  saw,  in  a  dream,  in  the  night  between  January  15th  and 
16th,  a  bed  with  closed  curtains,  and  near  it  stood  a  table  with 
a  lighted  taper  and  a  crucifix.  She  told  me  of  this  dream, 
which  alarmed  her  greatly.  We  soon  after  received  a  letter 
from  Koder,  telling  us  that  my  father-in-law  had  died  of 
pneumonia  shortly  before.  Lumique. 

"7  Rue  Traversiere-des-Potiers,  Toulouse." 
Letter  268. 

XXXI.  ''  By  sad  experience,  I  know  that  every  time  I  see 
in  a  dream  a  lady  with  whom  I  was  once  in  friendly  relations, 
and  who  has  been  dead  five  years,  I  shall  hear  of  a  death  in 
my  family. 

''  But  what  is  very  singular  is  that  about  six  weeks  ago  this 
lady  (in  a  dream)  came  and  walked  with  me  beside  the  La- 
goubran.  When  we  reached  the  Boulevard  de  Strasbourg,  at 
the  entrance  to  Toulon,  she  left  me,  and  went  back  towards 

442 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

Lagonbran  with  some  workmen  whom  I  did  not  know.  They 
all  looked  very  melancholy. 

*^  For  several  days  I  anxiously  asked  myself  who  I  was 
probably  going  to  lose  when  the  terrible  catastrophe  at 
Lagonbran  happened  that  every  one  knows  about.  She  had 
come  to  tell  me  of  the  misfortune  which  was  about  to  befall 
our  whole  city. 

''  One  of  my  friends,  on  the  night  of  March  3d  and  4th, 
dreamed  of  the  scenes  that  took  place  the  next  night,  March 
5th  and  6th ;  she  saw  passing  before  her  door  long  processions 
of  artillerymen,  carrying  the  dead  and  wounded,  attended  by 
soldiers  and  priests,  and  the  real  scene  afterwards  seemed  a 
second  edition  of  her  dream.  M.  J.  D. 

"Toulon."  Letter  345. 

XXXII.  *'  It  has  often  happened  to  me  to  find  myself  in 

some  situation,  as  commonplace  as  possible,  of  which  I  had 

had  an  exact  perception  some  time  before. 

''J.  H.  Charpektier. 
"Frankfort." 

Letter  351. 

XXXIII.  "In  1889,  in  the  month  of  April,  a  young 
girl  named  Jeanne  Dubo,  who  was  a  servant  in  my  family, 
dropped  dead  suddenly  in  my  presence  before  I  could  render 
her  any  assistance.  It  was  a  case  of  sudden  death  caused  by 
the  rupture  of  an  aneurism. 

"  The  parents  of  this  girl,  poor  farming  people,  who  lived, 
and  still  live,  in  the  Department  of  the  Landes,  having  heard 
the  sad  news,  arrived  at  my  house  the  next  morning  in  tears. 
Our  first  interview  was  as  painful  to  me  as  to  them,  for  I  was 
greatly  affected  by  the  death  of  this  girl,  to  whom  I  was  at- 
tached as  much  for  her  honesty  and  kindliness  as  for  the 
zeal  she  showed  in  taking  care  of  my  household. 

''  The  night  came.  I  sat  up  with  the  corpse,  together  with 
her  mother  and  father  ;  when  addressing  old  Dubo,  I  put  to 
him  in  patois  the  following  question :  '  Tell  me,  Dubo,  have 
you  ever  had  any  presentiment  about  Jeanne's  death  ?'  '  What 
do  you  mean  ?'  he  said  ;  'I  don't  understand.'    *  Yes,'  I  con- 

443 


THE    UNKNOWN 

tinned ;  '  some  sort  of  sign  ...  1  hardly  know  what  .  .  . 
something  that  forewarned  you  of  some  kind  of  misfortune  ?' 
'No/ he  replied,  shaking  his  head;  'nothing.'  'A  dream, 
for  instance  ?'  I  persisted.  '  A  dream  ?  .  .  .  Ah  !  yes — wait 
<  a  bit,'  he  said,  like  a  person  trying  to  call  something  to  mind. 
*  Yes — a  dream,'  he  murmured.  Then  turning  to  his  wife, 
who  was  lying  dressed  on  a  mattress,  he  said,  '  Do  you  hear, 
Marceline  ?  Your  dream  .  .  .  tie^is  /'  Sobs  responded  to 
this  question.  Then  he  told  me  that  one  night,  about  ten 
days  before,  his  wife  had  dreamed  that  their  daughter  ivas 
(lead,  that  while  she  dreamed  this  she  was  groaning  and  shed- 
ding tears,  and  that,  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  that  he 
made  to  comfort  her,  she  continued  to  feel  sure  that  her 
daughter  was  dead.  She  had  a  terrible  headache  in  conse- 
quence of  her  agitation,  which  lasted  several  days. 

^^  This  dream,  which  I  had  in  some  way  guessed  at,  and 
which  the  woman  Dubo  fancied  was  reality,  was  destined  to 
become  so  ten  or  twelve  days  later.  Justus  Mano, 

**  Tax  Receiver,  Belin,  Gironde." 
Letter  371. 

XXXIV.  ''  In  1865  I  was  in  England,  as  French  teacher  in 
a  school.  I  was  eighteen.  The  climate  did  not  suit  me  ;  I  was 
ailing  all  the  time,  and  all  my  thoughts  were  of  returning  to 
France.  I  had  gone  to  England  expecting  to  stay  there  two 
years,  which  would  have  given  me  time  to  learn  English.  I 
had  been  there  since  January,  when,  at  the  close  of  July,  I 
dreamed  that  I  must  learn  faster,  because  I  had  not  much 
longer  to  stay ;  but  my  dream  gave  me  no  reason  why  I  should 
be  obliged  to  return  home.  This  dream  preoccupied  my 
thoughts,  but  I  tried  to  get  it  out  of  my  mind  by  repeating 
to  myself  the  proverb,  '  Tout  songe  est  mensonge.^ 

"  On  August  13th  my  mother  died,  and  I  had  indeed  to 
return  to  France.  Leonie  Serres,  n^ee  Fabre. 

"Deaux,  Canton  of  Vezenabres  (Gard)." 
Letter  406. 

XXXV.  "In  a  dream  I  saw  and  travelled  in  a  part  of 
the  country  that  was  quite  unknown  to  me.     I  afterwards 

444 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

verified  my  vision,  which  was  exact  and  precise.     If  yon  wish 
it  I  can  send  yon  the  particulars.  Abdon  Grau. 

"Ain-Beida,  Constantine." 

Letter  486. 

XXXVI.  "Two  years  ago  I  had  a  situation  as  governess 
in  America.  We  were  living  in  the  country  in  Maryland, 
when  one  night  I  saw  in  a  dream  a  great  monumental  gate 
through  which  was  the  entrance  to  a  vast  forest,  and  a  few 
steps  from  it  was  the  game-keeper^s  cottage.  I  told  my 
dream  the  next  morning  to  Miss  S.,  in  whose  house  I  was 
living,  and  added  that  no  doubt  it  meant  that  I  should  soon 
go  back  to  Europe. 

'^But  how  great  was  my  surprise  when  last  year,  having 
really  gone  back,  as  I  foresaw,  and  having  a  situation  at  Cra- 
cow, we  left  town  for  the  country,  in  the  month  of  June.  A 
few  days  afterwards  my  pupil,  a  girl  of  fourteen,  said  to  me : 
^Come,  madame,  I  must  show  you  the  beautiful  forest  of 
T ,  which  belongs  to  Count  V.'  We  went,  and  at  the  en- 
trance to  the  forest  great  was  my  surprise  to  recognize  the 
gate  which  had  struck  me  so  much  in  my  dream  a  year  be- 
fore. '  Marie,'  I  said  to  my  pupil,  '  I  saw  that  gate  a  year 
ago  when  I  was  very  far  from  here,  and  it  was  in  a  dream.' 
She  was  very  much  amused. 

**  I  beg  you  will  not  print  my  name.  L.  R. 

"Moravia  (Austria)."  Letter  496. 

XXXVII.  '^I  think  I  had  better  tell  you  two  very  char- 
jicteristic  facts  relative  to  presentiments  experienced  and 
dreamt  by  two  persons  whom  I  perfectly  well  know : 

A  "The  first  dreamed  that  her  father  was  dead,  and  a 
month  later  he  died  under  the  smne  circu^nstances  that  accom- 
panied the  dream. 

B  "In  the  second  dream  a  lady  thought  that  her  baby 
had  just  died.  It  was  one  day  before  he  really  died,  under 
the  same  circumstances  related  in  the  dream. 

"  C.  VlAIT, 

"Former  Secretary  of  the  Flammarion  Scientific  Society. 

"Marseilles." 

Letter  499. 

445 


THE    UNKNOWN 

XXXIX.  ''One  year,  in  February  or  March,  I  had  in  a 
dream  a  vision  of  a  very  dear  friend  dressed  in  deep  mourn- 
ing for  one  of  her  relations.  That  night  (still  in  a  dream)  I 
was  present  at  all  the  bustle  that  takes  place  when  people  get 
home  from  a  journey  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  I  saw  her 
in  my  dream  with  her  child  in  her  arms,  wandering  about 
the  railway  station  in  the  lamp-light,  looking  for  a  carriage 
or  some  vehicle  that  would  take  her  home  befoi-e  the  fu- 
neral. 

"Five  months  after  I  learned  how  absolutely  true  my 
dream  had  just  become.  This  lady,  to  whom  I  was  greatly 
attached,  experienced  in  the  circumstances  of  which  I  had 
dreamed  all  the  care,  anxiety,  and  suffering  with  which  I 
had  seen  her  overwhelmed  at  the  railway  station  with  her 
child  in  her  arms.  The  member  of  her  family  whom  she 
had  lost  had  been  very  ill  for  some  time,  but  his  friends 
were  far  from  expecting  his  speedy  decease. 

"The  realization  of  this  dream,  though  not  immediate, 
took  place  nevertheless  in  the  month  of  December. 

"Whence  comes  this  prescience  of  the  future  that  some- 
times comes  to  us  in  dreams?  M.  P.  H.,  D.  M. 

-Romans."  Letter  509. 

XL.  "I  was  a  day  scholar  at  the  High-School,  when  in  a 
dream  I  found  myself  crossing  the  Place  de  la  Eepublique  in 
Paris,  a  napkin  under  my  arm,  when  just  opposite  the  maga- 
sins  du  Pauvre- Jacques  a  dog  ran  past  me  pursued  by  a 
crowd  of  gamins  who  were  tormenting  it.  I  saw  the  exact 
number  of  them — eight.  The  sales-people  in  the  store  were 
making  up  their  inventory;  a  fruit-seller  (called  a  marchande 
des  qnatre  saisons)  passed  by  with  her  cart  full  of  fruit  and 
flowers. 

"  The  next  morning,  as  I  went  to  school,  I  saw  exactly  the 
same  things  in  the  same  place.  It  was  a  repetition  of  the 
scene  I  had  witnessed  in  my  dream.  Nothing  was  wanting 
— the  dog  ran  down  the  gutter,  the  eight  gamins  ran  after 
him,  the  m,archande  des  quatre  saiso7is  with  her  cart  was 
turning  on  to  the  Boulevard  Voltaire,  and  the  sales-people  at 

446   -- 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

Je  Fauvre- Jacques  were  putting  their  goods  for  display  out- 
side the  door  of  their  establishment.  Ed.  Haknais. 

"10  Avenue  Lagache,  Villemomble  (Seine)." 
Letter  527. 

XLL  About  1827  or  1828  my  father  found  himself  at 
Nancy.  At  that  moment  there  was  taking  place  there  one 
of  those  lotteries  (since  prohibited)  in  which  people  were 
exhorted  to  choose  the  numbers  that  they  wished  for.  My 
father  was  much  tempted  to  take  a  chance,  but  he  had  not 
made  up  his  mind  to  do  so,  when  that  night  he  saw  in  his 
sleep  two  numbers  in  phosphorescent  characters  on  the  wall 
of  his  chamber.  Much  struck  by  this,  he  resolved  to  go  as 
soon  as  the  window  of  the  ticket-office  should  be  opened  in 
the  morning,  and  ask  for  the  numbers  of  which  he  had 
dreamed.  But  conscientious  scruples  restrained  him.  He 
could  not,  however,  afterwards  resist  going  to  inquire  the  re- 
sult of  the  drawing.  The  numbers  he  had  dreamed  of  had 
come  out  in  the  order  they  had  appeared  to  him,  and  their 
holder  had  gained  seventy-five  thousand  francs. 

'*  Mademoiselle  Meyer. 
"Niort  (Deux- Sevres)." 

Letter  549. 

XLII.  '^We  were  going  to  Paris,  my  wife  and  I,  in  May, 
1897,  to  pass  a  few  days,  and  we  stopped  at  Angers  to  see 
some  of  our  relations.  The  morning  of  the  day  fixed  for 
our  departure  for  Paris  I  was  in  that  state  of  delicious  com- 
placency which  one  feels  when  one  has  a  vague  idea  that  life 
is  reblossoming  around  one,  and  one  is  snug  in  a  comfortable 
bed.  I  was  not  awake  ;  I  was  dozing.  Suddenly  I  heard  a 
fresh  melodious  voice  singing  a  charming  song  which  de- 
lighted me.  The  air  seemed  so  pretty  that  I  was  sorry  when 
I  woke.     I  was  delighted. 

''In  my  imaginatioii  I  attributed  the  song  to  some  young 
apprentice  who  had  stopped  upon  the  Quai,  just  under  my 
window. 

"We  reached  Paris  the  same  day,  and  went  to  pass  the 
evening  at  a  cafe  concert  in  the  Champs-Elyse^s,  where,  to 

447 


THE    UNKNOWN 

my  astouishment,  when  it  was  half  over,  I  heard  a  performer 
sing  the  same  air  I  had  heard  in  my  dream  that  morning.  I 
affirm  that  it  was  absolutely  the  same. 

''The  evening  before  that  the  air  had  been  completely  un- 
known to  me,  and  I  have  never  heard  it  since. 

''Emile  Soux. 
"  6  Rue  Victor  Hugo,  Carcassonne." 

Letter  554, 

XLIII.  ''In  1871  I  had  a  brother  twenty  years  old.  He 
was  a  doctor  in  the  Military  Hospital  at  Montpellier.  My 
poor  brother  fell  ill.  They  sent  a  despatch  to  my  father, 
telling  him  his  son  had  typhoid  fever.  Worn  out  by  a  vari- 
ety of  emotions  and  by  the  fatigues  of  the  late  war,  he  grew 
rapidly  worse,  notwithstanding  the  care  lavished  on  him. 

"  On  December  1st  he  said  to  my  father,  who  never  left 
his  pillow,  'I  see  three  coffins  in  this  chamber.'  Father  said 
to  him:  'You  mistake,  my  dear  boy;  you  see  cradles.'  I 
should  here  say  that  I  had  a  sister  who  had  been  married 
three  years,  and  had  a  dear  little  son  thirteen  months  old,  in 
good  health,  and  a  baby  born  eight  days  before. 

"  The  next  day  my  brother  was  worse,  and  died  in  my 
father's  arms. 

"My  father  returned  to  Douai  after  the  funeral,  and  he 
found  my  youngest  nephew  dying  of  croup.  The  other,  who 
had  been  in  the  best  of  health,  died  also.  So  there  were  the 
three  coffins  seen  by  my  poor  brother. 

"  These  facts  are  exactly  what  occurred. 

"Berthe  Dubrulle. 
"4  Rue  de  I'Abbaye  des  Pr^s.  Douai." 
Letter  558. 

XLIV.  (A)  "  In  1889  I  was  road-master  of  an  arrondisse- 
ment  in  the  Department  of  Lozere.  Being  on  a  tour  of  in- 
spection at  Saint  TJrcize  (Cantal),  I  had,  about  midnight,  an 
impression  that  a  voice  said  to  me  '  Your  father  is  dead/  I 
went  home  two  days  after,  much  impressed.  But  no  bad 
news  awaited  me.  Nothing  from  my  father,  who  lived  in  a 
distant  part  of  the  country.  But  two  days  after  (I  think)  I 
received  a  despatch  summoning  me  to  him,  as  he  was  serious- 

448 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

ly  ill  with  inflammation  of  the  lungs.  I  immediately  started, 
but  I  did  not  arrive  until  six  hours  after  he  had  died.  If  I 
had  left  as  soon  as  I  received  the  warning  sent  to  me  in  my 
dream,  I  might  have  passed  thirty-six  hours  with  my  father 
before  he  died.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  deeply  I  regret  my 
delay. 

(B)  ^'I  was  twenty-one.  I  had  to  draw  my  chance  to 
serve  in  the  army.  The  night  before  the  drawing  I  dreamed 
of  the  number  45,  and  I  drew  it  in  the  morning.  This 
seemed  to  me  to  indicate  that  what  we  think  is  chance  is 
governed  by  other  laws.  On  the  other  hand,  between  the 
moment  when  I  had  the  dream  and  that  in  which  I  drew 
the  number  out  of  the  urn  there  may  have  passed  too  many 
things  to  make  me  attribute  to  chance  alone  the  distribution 
of  the  numbers.  How  did  it  happen  that  these  things  did  not 
alter  what  had  seemed  decided  the  night  before  ? 

"  GUIBAL, 
"  Road-master  in  the  Arrondissement  of  Belisane,  Algeria." 
Letter  573. 

*  XLVI.  ''  In  1893  I  had  a  daughter  in  Paris  at  the  Dental 
School.  She  was  twenty  years  old,  and  had  no  inclination  for 
marriage.  On  January  2,  1893,  I  had  a  very  strange  dream. 
I  saw  my  daughter  coming  home  for  the  holidays  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  (she  never  came  by  that  train).  I  saw 
her  enter  my  chamber  wearing  a  large  plaid  cloak,  which  I 
had  never  seen.  She  came  up  to  my  bed,  and  said  to  me, 
'  Mother,  I  wish  to  be  married.  I  love,  I  am  loved,  and  if  I 
do  not  marry  him  I  shall  die/ 

''  I  made  all  kinds  of  remonstrances,  telling  her  she  had 
better  wait  until  she  had  finished  her  studies  and  not  inter- 
rupt her  course.  It  was  no  use.  She  insisted  so  earnestly 
that,  in  my  dream,  I  acquiesced  in  her  wishes. 

'^  When  I  woke  up  in  the  morning  my  dream  returned  to 
my  memory.  I  told  my  maid  of  it,  and  a  seamstress  who 
was  sewing  for  me,  and  I  added  : 

"  '■  Tout  songe  est  mensonge.  But  no  matter,  I  am  not  going 
to  write  to  my  daughter,  for  fear  I  should  put  marriage  into 
her  head.' 

3f  449 


THE    UNKNOWN 

"  The  same  year,  at  the  end  of  July,  I  received  a  letter 
from  my  daughter,  telling  me  that  she  had  passed  her  exam- 
inations for  the  second  year  with  credit,  and  that  she  would 
be  home  that  evening  by  the  train  she  generally  came  by, 
which  reached  Saint  Amand  at  night  at  12.49.  We  expected 
her,  but  in  vain. 

^'  At  five  o^clock  in  the  morning  we  were  awakened  by  a 
lond  ring  at  the  bell.  My  maid  went  to  open  the  door,  and 
my  daughter  came  into  my  room  wearing  a  plaid  duster  she 
had  bought  a  few  days  before.  She  kissed  me,  and  repeated 
to  me,  word  for  word,  exactly  what  in  my  dream  I  had 
heard  her  say  on  the  2d  of  January  ;  and  I  answered,  '  Why, 
you  told  me  all  that  before.  ^  '  How  could  I  have  told  you  ? 
It  is  only  a  week  since  I  came  to  a  decision.^ 

'^  At  once  I  remembered  my  dream.  My  servant  then  told 
her  about  it.  But  my  daughter  was  not  so  much  astonished 
as  I  should  have  expected.  She  told  me  that  I  had  once  be- 
fore seen  in  a  dream  what  was  long  after  going  to  happen. 
And,  in  truth,  I  had  seen  Saint  Amaud  when  I  had  never 
been  there,  as  well  as  the  apartments  I  now  occupy,  tw^ 
years  before  I  came  to  inhabit  them. 

"  Madame  Bovohn. 

"Saint  Amand  (Cher)." 

Letter  584. 

XLVII.  (A)  ''  A  few  years  ago  we  had  a  little  friend 
whose  mother  had  entered  her  at  the  school  at  ficouen.  I 
dreamed  afterwards  that  I  saw  the  child  passing  along  the 
street.  I  was  astonished  to  see  her,  for  I  knew  she  left  home, 
and  (still  in  my  dream)  her  mother  came  and  said  to  us,  '  I 
could  not  make  up  my  mind  to  leave  my  daughter  at  school. 
I  have  teen  to  fetch  her  Jiome.'  A  day,  or  two  days,  after  my 
dream,  we  received  a  visit  from  this  lady.  I  said  to  her : 
^  Does  Marguerite  like  school  ?'  She  answered,  '  Don't  you 
know  what  I  have  just  done  ?  I  could  not  make  up  my 
mind  to  leave  her  there,  and  I  have  been  to  bring  her  home.' 

(B)  ^'  At  Toul,  where  we  lived,  there  was  a  beggar  who 
made  a  very  disagreeable  impression  on  me.  He  was  very  re- 
pulsive, he  was  ugly,  and  of  a  bad  character.     One  night  I 

450 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

dreamed  that  some  one  was  ringing  at  the  front  door.  It  was 
dark,  but  through  the  darkness  I  seemed  to  see  the  outline  of 
this  beggar,  who  said,  '  Mademoiselle,  I  have  nowhere  to  pass 
the  night ;  will  you  let  me  lie  down  here  ?'  The  next  evening, 
while  in  a  dreamy  state,  I  was  sitting  in  the  dining-room  with 
my  sister  and  my  little  cousin,  when  I  heard  a  noise  outside 
the  kitchen  door.  I  went  to  see  what  it  was.  The  beggar 
was  there,  who  said  to  me,  'I  am  without  shelter;  will  you  let 
me  lie  here  for  the  night  ?'  Mademoiselle  Hubert. 

"Nancy."  Letter  607. 

XLIX.  (A)  '^  When  I  was  about  fourteen  I  dreamed  that 
one  evening  I  was  near  a  wood,  but  before  me  was  a  wall.  I 
was  alone,  and  I  felt  like  crying.  Some  months  later  I  really 
found  myself  in  the  same  situation,  and  equally  disposed  to 
shed  tears. 

(B)  '^In  1882,  having  been  made  a  non-commissioned 
officer  in  the  119th  Regiment,  at  Havre,  I  dreamed  that  I  had 
turned  school-master.  I  laughed  at  this,  for  it  would  have 
been  the  very  last  thing  I  should  have  cared  to  do.  Two 
years  later  I  was  at  Stains,  teaching  a  class  of  the  very  same 
children  I  had  seen  in  my  dream. 

(C)  "  In  1893  I  knocked  at  my  father's  chamber  door 
(Faux-la-Montagne,  in  the  canton  Gentioux,  Creuse),  having 
returned  from  Martinique  after  nine  years'  absence.  He  did 
not  recognize  me,  and  asked  me  who  I  was  and  what  I  wanted. 
'  I  am  a  traveller,'  I  said,  '  and  I  bring  you  news  of  your  son 
in  Normandy.'  'And  the  one  in  Martinique?'  'I  have  no 
news  of  him.  Why  do  you  ask  me  ?'  'Because  this  very 
night  I  dreamed  I  saw  him  standing  there  just  in  that  door, 
where  you  are  standing  now.'  And  he  burst  into  tears.  I 
ought  to  mention  that  he  had  spoken  of  this  dream  already 
when  he  woke  up,  and  before  he  had  seen  me.  They  had  had 
no  intimation  that  I  was  likely  to  return.  Legros, 

"School-master  at  Gros  Morne,  Martinique." 
Letter  608. 

LII.  ''Some  days  after  our  marriage  my  wife  said  to  me, 
'It  is  extraordinary,  but  six  months   ago  I  dreamed  that  I 

451 


THE    UNKNOWN 

should  marry  yon.  I  even  told  my  mother  so  the  next  morn- 
ing, and  we  laughed  about  it.'  My  mother  added,  '  Oh,  he 
is  a  young  man  who  probably  never  had  a  thought  of  you/ 
Now  observe  that  up  to  that  time  we  not  only  had  never 
spoken  to  each  other,  but  we  were  not  even  acquainted.  Al- 
though we  lived  in  the  same  neighborhood  we  had  seen  each 
other  only  at  a  distance,  as  it  were  by  chance,  and  we  did  not 
visit  at  the  same  houses.  It  is,  therefore,  most  extraordinary 
that  that  young  girl  should  have  dreamed  that  before  long 
she  would  be  married  to  me.     And  yet  the  dream  came  true. 

(c  fp 

"Villeneuve-8ur-Yonne."      r  ..     o^r^ 
Letter  619. 

LIII.  ''  You  have  asked  to  be  told  inexplicable  facts,  facts 
which,  however,  are  certain  dreams,  and  other  observations  of 
the  same  kind.  Perhaps  you  will  not  think  what  I  am  going  to 
tell  you  is  of  any  importance,  or  has  any  interest,  but  if  every- 
body thought  so,  and  would  say  nothing,  your  appeal  would 
be  useless.  I  am  going,  therefore,  to  write  you  what  I  know, 
only  begging  you  not  to  give  my  name,  if  by  chance  you  use 
my  letter.  I  live  in  a  little  town  where  I  had  rather  my  name 
should  not  be  read. 

(A)  ^'In  January,  1888,  I  was  pregnant,  but  for  certain 
special  reasons  I  did  not  know  how  long  I  had  been  so.  Find- 
ing I  was  one  day  greatly  exhausted,  my  husband  sent  for  the 
nurse,  who  said,  'I  think  it  will  soon  take  place'  (she  was  a 
very  skilful  woman).  Next  day  I  felt  very  well  again.  On 
February  1st  it  was  the  same  thing,  and  my  sister,  who  was  a 
year  younger  than  I  was,  and  not  married,  told  me  in  the 
morning  (she  did  not  know  that  I  had  suffered  in  the  night, 
for  she  slept  in  a  remote  part  of  the  house)  what  follows : 
'  Last  night  I  was  not  dreaming  but  I  was  awakened  by  some 
one  who  said  to  me,  "  Your  sister  need  not  be  uneasy  about 
her  pains.  The  child  will  be  born  on  the  22d  of  June."  And 
I  said  to  the  voice,  ^'  Since  you  know  so  much,  tell  me,  will  it 
be  a  girl  or  a  boy  ?"  The  voice  replied  :  '^  That  I  do  not  know. 
But  this  I  know  :  you  will  all  then  be  far  from  happy." '  Now 
we  already  had  had  two  boys  and  were  most  anxious  for  a 
daughter. 

452 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

**  Of  course,  we  made  fun  of  my  sister,  and,  my  pains  con- 
tinuing to  increase,  I  made  my  preparations. 

"  But  February  and  March  passed,  and  by  degrees  we  were 
less  inclined  to  laugh  at  her ;  her  own  faith  was  never  shaken 
in  what  had  been  told  her.  We  even  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  baby  would  be  a  boy,  as  we  were  not  to  be  happy  on 
its  arrival,  and  we  began  to  believe  so  firmly  in  the  predic- 
tion that  on  June  21st  I  made  ready  the  cradle  and  pre- 
pared everything  for  the  next  day.  On  June  22d,  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  my  baby  was  born.  It  was  a  girl, 
which  would  have  given  us  great  satisfaction  had  I  not  im- 
mediately after  her  birth  had  a  hemorrhage  which  nearly 
cost  me  my  life.  Two  days  later  my  eldest  boy  had  bronchitis, 
and  my  sister,  for  the  first  time  in  her  life,  was  taken  ill.  My 
second  son  had  croup,  and  had  to  have  an  operation ;  my  sis- 
ter, who  had  risen  too  soon  from  her  bed  to  see  after  him,  had 
diphtheria  ;  and  my  father,  three  months  later,  had  a  slight 
accident,  in  consequence  of  which  he  died.  Assuredly  we 
were  not  happy. 

"  (B)  My  daughter  was  three  weeks  old.  I  could  not 
nurse  her,  having  an  abscess  on  my  breast.  My  husband  had 
to  go  to  Manosque  to  get  a  wet-nurse,  who  was  recommended 
to  us,  and  he  brought  her  back  the  same  day,  Friday,  July 
13th.  Before  I  woke  that  morning  I  was  tormented  by  a 
strange  dream.  My  sons  were  doing  well,  the  oldest  was  all 
right,  and  the  second,  a  superb  child,  was  in  perfect  health. 
I  said  to  my  husband,  '  It  is  strange,  but  last  night  I  dreamed 
I  was  in  a  town  I  did  not  know ;  I  was  looking  for  Rene's 
nurse  and  they  told  me  ^'^As  it  is  Saturday,  she  has  gone  to 
the  washing."  I  looked  for  her  very  anxiously,  and  meeting 
her  alone  I  asked  :  "  What  have  you  done  with  Rene  ?"  Clo- 
tilde  replied  :  '^  Madame,  I  left  him  behind  this  wall."  I  ran 
to  find  him ;  he  was  lying  up  against  the  wall,  quite  naked, 
his  body  was  as  black  as  soot,  and  he  had  a  hole  in  his  neck 
out  of  which  protruded  the  trachea.  He  was  not  dead,  how- 
ever.' 

''  My  husband  laughed  at  my  dream,  and  at  the  anxiety  I 
felt  because  of  it.     About  four  in  the  afternoon  Rene,  who 

453 


THE    UNKNOWN 

had  not  gone  out  of  the  house,  but  was  playing  with  his  papa, 
had  a  strange  fit  of  coughing,  and  was  nearly  choked  by  it. 
I  sent  in  haste  for  a  doctor.     It  was  a  case  of  croup. 

*'At  two  in  the  morning,  Saturday,  July  14th,  four  doc- 
tors made  ready  to  perform  the  operation  of  tracheotomy ; 
it  was  before  the  discovery  of  serum  ;  the  child  was  laid  naked 
on  a  table,  his  neck  was  pierced,  and  a  silver  tube  was  in- 
serted in  the  trachea.  The  operation  was  almost  completed 
when,  the  trachea  being  torn  by  the  hook  with  which  it  was 
held,  the  child  was  choked  with  blood,  and  his  body  became 
quite  black ;  but  happily  a  large  dose  of  ipecac  brought  back 
the  cough  and  relieved  him. 

''  During  the  operation  my  husband  leaned  over  me  and 
said  :  '  Valentine,  this  is  the  dream  you  had  yesterday  that  I 
laughed  at  .  .  .''  The  child  is  a  big  boy  now,  and  is  perfectly 
well.  Madame  X. 

' '  Forcalquier. "  Letter  623. 

LV.  '^  Monsieur  A.  lived  in  the  village  of  0.,  and  very  often 
had  dreams  which  came  true  exactly.  He  was  judge  at  the 
tribunal  of  C,  where  he  went  every  fortnight.  One  morn- 
ing when  he  should  have  gone  to  C,  he  came  down-stairs 
quite  preoccupied,  and  told  his  wife  ^nd  daughter  (Madame 
M.,  who  told  me  this),  the  following  dream  :  I  drove  in  a 
carriage  into  the  town  of  0.  where  I  saw  before  D.^s  house 
two  coffins  and  a  funeral  procession  being  got  into  line.  I 
knew  almost  all  those  who  were  present  ;  the  prefect,  the 
judges,  the  municipal  authorities,  and  the  relatives.  I  asked 
a  by-stander,  '  Why,  who  is  dead  in  the  family  of  D.  ?' 

'** Don't  you  know,"  he  said,  'that  Madame  D.  and  her 
son  died  the  same  day,  and  they  are  to  be  buried  this  morn- 

ing?' 

''Monsieur  A.,  having  told  us  of  his  dream,  left  home  say- 
ing that  he  was  sure  that  he  should  hear  of  some  death  in  the 
course  of  the  day.  Imagine  his  astonishment  when  driving 
into  0.  he  saw  two  coffins  before  the  D.  house,  and  just  the 
same  persons  present  that  he  had  see7i  in  his  dream.  He  hard- 
ly dared  ask  who  were  the  persons  who  had  died,  he  felt  so 

454 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

sure  before-hand  that  he  should  hear  the  very  words  he  had 
heard  in  his  dream.  He  however  stopped  a  man  who  was 
passing  and  put  to  him  the  question.  'Don^t  you  know,' 
was  the  answer,  '  that  Madame  D.  and  her  son  died  the  same 
day,  and  they  are  to  be  buried  this  morning  ?' 

'^  What  seems  to  me  most  interesting  in  the  dream  is  that 
the  words  heard  were  exactly  the  same  as  those  really  heard 
the  next  day.  There  was,  therefore,  premonitory  vision  and 
premonitory  hearing,  both  at  once. 

*' You  can  be  assured  of  i]iQ  perfect  authe7iticity  of  this  nar- 
rative. The  family  of  Monsieur  A.  was  so  much  impressed 
by  it  that  they  have  preserved  an  exact  memory  of  all  its 
particulars.  H.  Bessoj^, 

"Pastor  at Orvin-pr^s-Bienne,  Switzerland." 
Letter  633. 

LVI.  "  I  dreamed  that  while  riding  a  bicycle  a  dog  ran 
right  before  me  on  the  road,  and  that  I  fell  off,  breaking  the 
pedal  of  the  machine.  In  the  morning  I  told  my  dream  to 
my  mother,  who,  knowing  how  often  my  dreams  came  true, 
begged  me  to  stay  in  the  house.  In  fact  I  resolved  not  to  go  out, 
but  towards  11  o'clock,  at  the  moment  of  sitting  down  at 
table,  the  postman  brought  us  a  letter  informing  us  that  my 
sister,  who  lived  four  miles  from  our  house,  had  been  taken 
ill.  At  once  forgetting  my  dream,  and  thinking  of  nothing 
but  of  getting  news  of  my  sister,  I  breakfasted  in  all  haste, 
and  started  on  my  bicycle.  My  ride  was  without  accident 
until  I  reached  the  place  where  the  night  before  I  had  seen 
myself  lying  in  the  dust  with  a  broken  machine.  Hardly  had 
my  dream  crossed  my  mind,  when  an  enormous  dog  sprang 
out  of  a  farm-house  near  the  road,  and  tried  to  seize  me  by 
the  leg.  Without  thinking,  I  kicked  at  him,  and  with  that  I 
lost  my  babouce  and  fell  off  my  machine,  breaking  the  pedal, 
thus  realizing  my  dream  even  to  its  smallest  incidents.  Now, 
please  remember,  that  I  had  been  over  that  road  at  least  one 
hundred  times,  and  never  before  had  I  the  smallest  accident. 

"Amedee  Basset, 
"Notary  at  Vitrac,  Charente." 
Letter  640. 
455 


THE    UNKNOWN 

LVII.  ''  Marshal  Vaillant,  who  was  neither  a  visionary  nor 
a  narrow-minded  man,  told  one  of  my  friends,  who  has  several 
times  told  me,  that  when  he  set  out  for  the  siege  of  Eome, 
having  been  ordered  to  conduct  the  operations,  and  being 
totally  ignorant  what  fortifications  had  been  constructed  for 
the  defence  of  the  place,  he  saw  very  distinctly  in  a  dream, 
before  he  landed  in  Italy,  the  precise  spot  in  which  it  would 
be  best  to  begin  the  attack.  It  was,  as  he  afterwards  assured 
himself,  the  one  weak  spot  in  the  defences.  I  send  this  fact 
without  comment ;  no  doubt  you  can  make  use  of  it  in  your 
category  of  auto-suggestions. 

''B.  KiKSCH, 
"  Ex-professor  at  Semur,  Cote  d'Or." 
Letter  643. 

LVIII.  (A)  ''  My  mother,  who  was  born  in  1800,  August 
15,  and  died  in  1886,  had  a  bad  fever  in  1811,  when  she  was 
at  boarding-school  (I  think)  at  Aire-sur-la-Lys.  It  was,  how- 
ever, the  only  illness  she  ever  had  in  her  life.  In  a  fit  of 
delirum  she  saw  herself  at  home  with  her  mother,  Madame 
Oampagne,  nee  Marie  Louise  De  Lannoy  de  Linghem,  at 
Estree  Blanche  (Pas  de  Calais),  and  while  still  under  the  in- 
fluence of  fever  she  screamed  and  called  out  that  they  must 
take  her  away,  for  the  house  was  on  fire. 

''Now,  a  year  later,  in  1812,  the  house  at  Estree  was  really 
burned  down,  and  my  mother  saw  the  real  fire  exactly  as  she 
had  seen  it  in  her  fever  in  1811. 

''The  central  part  of  the  house  and  one  wing  were  laid  in 
ashes,  the  other  wing  was  saved,  and  it  was  there  that  my 
grandmother  found  temporary  shelter  with  her  numerous 
family  (she  had  ten  children).  The  part  not  burned  con- 
tained twelve  rooms  with  fire-places  and  attics.  My  mother 
never  told  a  falsehood  to  my  knowledge.  She  has  told  me  all 
this  very  many  times;  not  only  she,  but  my  uncles  and  aunts. 
The  part  of  the  building  not  burned  is  standing  still. 

(B)  "About  July,  1887,  I  think  (the  exact  date  could  be 
learned  from  the  mairie  at  Saint  Omer ;  I  was  then  living  at 
Tatinghem,  a  village  two  miles  away),  a  person,  Mademoisselle 
Estelle  Poulain,  who  has  been  living  in  my  family  since  1873, 

456 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

saw  in  a  dream  her  aunt,  Madame  Lepretre,  nee  Honorine 
Hochart,  who  spoke  to  her.  Mademoisselle  Ponlain  could 
not  distinguish  her  features,  but  she  knew  it  was  her  aunt. 
She  started  up  wide  awake,  and  almost  immediately  the 
clock  in  her  room  struck  three  (in  the  morning).  This  was  on 
a  Saturday,  the  day  the  market  is  held  at  Saint  Omer. 

'^  About  twelve  or  one  o'clock  Mademoiselle  Poulain's 
uncle,  M.  Noel  Lepretre,  came  to  my  house  to  tell  us  that 
his  wife,  Honorine  Hochart,  Mademoiselle  Poulain's  aunt, 
had  died  that  morning  a  little  before  three  o'clock,  and  had 
said  to  the  sister  of  charity,  who  was  nursing  her,  ^  I  am  so 
sorry  I  cannot  see  my  niece  Estelle.'  Now,  on  my  word  of 
honor,  Mademoiselle  Estelle  Poulain  had  told  me  her  dream 
long  hefore  the  arrival  of  her  uncle. 

'^  Leon  Lecokte, 
"  Editor-in-chief  of  the  ^tudiant,  Paris." 
Letter  667. 

LX.  "  In  1882  I  was  suddenly  separated  from  a  person 
who  was  very  dear  to  me;  and  while  for  some  weeks  I  was 
plunged  in  deepest  grief,  I  heard  a  voice  saying  to  me,  '  This 
very  day  a  year  from  now  that  person  will  come  back  to 
you.'  It  was  then  May,  and  the  next  year  at  the  same 
date  I  met  the  person  in  the  street.  We  were  both  much  af- 
fected at  the  sight  of  each  other.  Explanations,  regrets,  re* 
morse,  and  reconciliation  followed,  and  since  that  time  I 
have  had  no  more  devoted  friend  than  this  one,  whose  repen- 
tance was  most  sincere. 

"  While  asleep  I  have  had  sight  at  a  distance  of  cities  to 
which  I  have  afterwards  gone,  and  have  been  astonished  to 
see  their  buildings  and  monuments  just  as  I  had  seen  them 
in  my  dreams — Brussels,  for  instance,  which  I  had  seen  in  my 
sleep  a  year  lefore  I  went  there. 

"H.    POKCER. 

"457  Rue  Paradis,  Marseilles." 

Letter  725. 

"  LXI.  (A)  '^  My  poor  mother  died  in  the  night  of  Sep- 
tember 17,  1860,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  having  pre- 
served her  memory,  and  being  conscious  to  the  last  of  all  that 

457 


THE    UNKNOWN 

passed  around  her.  A  little  before  her  death  she  looked 
round  to  find  me,  and  when  she  saw  I  was  not  there,  the 
anguish  in  her  face  was  heart-rending,  and  big  tears  rolled 
down  her  cheeks.  (This  was  told  me  later  by  persons  pres- 
ent at  the  moment  when  she  died.) 

^'  Now,  that  same  night,  September  17,  1860,  I  woke  up 
with  a  start  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  fancying  I  heard 
my  mother  calling  me,  and  several  times  I  sat  up  in  my  bed, 
crying,  '  Mamma  !  Mamma !'  which  awakened  my  bedfellow, 
and  then  I  fell  in  a  heap  on  the  floor.  People  had  to  be 
roused  to  give  me  help  and  to  recover  me  from  my  fainting 
fit,  which  lasted  about  twenty  minutes. 

(B.)  "  It  was  1869,  at  the  time  of  the  plebiscite,  when,  one 
night,  I  had  a  dream,  or  rather,  I  may  say,  a  terrible  night- 
mare. 

'^  In  it  I  saw  myself  a  soldier — we  were  at  war.  I  felt  all 
that  a  soldier  has  to  endure  in  war  time — fatigue,  hunger, 
and  thirst.  I  heard  orders  given,  I  heard  volleys  fired,  I 
heard  the  roar  of  cannon  ;  I  saw  men  fall  dead  and  wounded 
round  me,  and  I  heard  their  cries. 

"  All  of  a  sudden  I  found  myself  in  a  village  where  we  were 
to  receive  a  terrible  attack  from  the  enemy.  They  were  Prus- 
sians, Bavarians,  and  dragoons  from  Baden.  Take  notice 
that  I  had  never  before  seen  these  uniforms,  and  that  the 
country  at  that  time  had  no  thought  of  war.  At  one  mo- 
ment I  saw  one  of  our  officers  climb  into  the  church  steeple 
with  a  field-glass  to  observe  the  movements  of  the  enemy; 
then  he  came  down,  formed  us  in  column  to  attack,  sounded 
the  charge,  and  rushed  us  forward  at  double  quick,  with  fixed 
bayonets,  on  a  Prussian  battery. 

'^At  this  moment,  in  my  dream,  being  engaged  hand-to- 
hand  with  the  artillerymen  of  this  Prussian  battery,  I  saw  one 
of  them  strike  a  blow  at  my  head,  so  formidable  that  he 
clove  it  in  two.  Then  I  was  awakened  by  falling  out  of  bed. 
I  felt  a  terrible  pain  in  my  head.  As  I  fell  I  had  knocked  it 
on  a  little  stove  which  I  used  for  a  table. 

'^  On  October  6, 1870,  this  dream  came  true — village,  school, 
mairie,  and  church  were  where  I  had  seen  them.     I  saw  our 

458 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

major  going  up  into  the  steeple  to  reconnoitre  the  position  of 
the  enemy ;  I  saw  him  come  down,  heard  him  order  the 
charge  to  be  sounded,  and  we  rushed  with  fixed  bayonets  on 
the  Prussian  cannon.  In  my  dream  at  this  moment  I  had  had 
my  head  split  by  a  stroke  from  the  blade  of  a  Prussian.  In 
the  real  fight  I  expected  this,  but  I  only  received  a  blow  from 
a  rammer,  which  possibly  was  intended  for  my  head,  but  only 
hit  me  on  my  right  thigh.  A.  Regnier, 

"  Sergeant-Major  in  the  Company  of  Francs  Tireurs,  at  Neuilly-sur-Seine. 
"73  Rue  Jeanne  Hachette,  Havre." 

Letter  788. 

LXIII.  "  In  1867  I  was  at  Bordeaux,  at  the  head  of  a  drug- 
store which  I  had  opened  a  few  months  before.  One  night  I 
saw,  in  a  dream,  the  figures  *  76  fr.  30 '  written  on  the  day- 
book, whereas  they  ought  to  have  been  written  on  that  of  the 
next  day.  That  day,  in  the  morning,  this  sum  was  so  im- 
pressed upon  my  mind  that  I  spoke  of  it  to  my  assistant.  Our 
ordinary  receipts  being  about  45  francs  a  day,  we  thought 
that  76  fr.  30  must  mean  the  receipts  for  two  days.  The 
work  that  day  was  about  what  it  was  on  other  days,  but  in 
the  evening  we  were  overwhelmed  with  customers.  At  length, 
at  half -past  ten,  after  the  last  one  left  (that  person  must  have 
been  at  least  the  hundredth),  I  looked  in  the  cash-drawer  and 
I  found  exactly  76  fr.  30. 

*'M.  Jaubert,  of  Carcassonne,  to  whom  I  told  this,  made 
me  observe  that  it  would  have  needed  a  number  of  spirits  to 
bring  customers,  who  all  bought  and  paid,  and  to  hinder  others, 
and  there  certainly  must  have  been  a  book-keeper  among  the 
celestial  operators.  I  remember  one  circumstance.  A  lady, 
whom  I  knew  to  be  very  unpunctual  in  paying,  bought  a 
great  number  of  articles  ;  she  seemed  to  obey  some  kind  of 
inspiration.  At  last  she  paid  for  everything !  She  was  the 
last  customer;  surely  the  spirit  who  was  making  up  the  ac- 
counts needed  just  her  money.  A.  Comera. 

"Toulouse."  Letter  633. 

LXIV.  ''  I  lost  my  father  in  1865,  and  remained  head  of 
my  family,  with  two  younger  brothers.     The  one  next  to  me, 

459 


THE    UNK^iUWN 

Aristide,  born  in  1853,  belonged  to  the  class  of  1873,  and 
drew  his  number  for  military  service  in  1874.  He  had  not 
been  willing  to  provide  himself  with  a  substitute,  and  trusted 
to  chance  whether  he  would  have  to  serve  six  months  or  five 
years  in  the  army. 

"This  alternative  greatly  excited  my  poor  mother,  who 
spoke  of  it  every  time  I  came  to  see  her  at  Nieuil-sur-FAutise 
(Vendee)  upon  Sundays,  for  I  was  studying  to  be  a  notary  at 
Niort,  eleven  miles  away. 

"  Thinking  that  I  might  do  a  father's  part  by  assisting  my 
brother  when  the  drawing  took  place,  on  Tuesday,  February 
10, 1874, 1  left  Niort  on  Monday,  and  went  to  Nieuil.  After 
dinner,  at  which  the  conversation  had  turned  on  the  chances 
of  the  drawing,  I  went  to  bed  at  ten  o'clock. 

"  Preoccupation  no  doubt  made  me  dream,  and  I  distinctly 
saw  my  brother,  Aristide,  putting  his  hand  in  the  urn  and 
drawing  out  a  number,  when  he  showed  me  the  figures,  con- 
siderably enlarged,  '  67." 

"  I  started  up.  I  lit  my  candle,  and,  looking  at  the  clock,  I 
saw  it  was  three  in  the  morning. 

"  When  I  got  up  at  eight  I  told  my  dream  to  my  mother,  to 
my  brother,  to  the  garde  -  champUre,  and  to  some  conscripts 
of  our  commune,  who  laughed  at  it  heartily. 

"  But  exactly  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
day,  in  the  chief'  town  of  the  District  of  Saint-Hilaire-des- 
Loges  (Vendee),  my  brother  drew  from  the  urn  the  famous 
number — 67,  and  showed  it  to  me  with  the  same  gesture  with 
which  he  had  shown  it  me  when  he  drew  it  in  my  dream, 
twelve  hours  before ;  and,  what  was  very  surprising,  66  was 
the  last  number  drawn  to  make  up  the  contingent  which  in- 
volved five  years  of  active  service,  while  my  brother  got  off 
with  six  months  in  the  artillery  at  Brest. 

''  Alfred  Gail. 

"  154  Avenue  de  Wagram,  Paris." 

Letter  788. 

LXV.  (A)  "  One  of  my  great-aunts,  who  is  now  dead,  had 
frequent  presentiments  while  she  lived,  which  all  came  true. 
In  the  month  of  February,  1871,  she  had  a  dream  telling  her 

4G0 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

of  the  approaching  death  of  two  of  her  sisters,  both  of  whom 
were  then  enjoying  perfect  health.  This  dream  she  wrote 
out  in  a  book  where  she  was  accustomed  to  note  down  any 
events  in  her  life.  It  unfortunately  soon  came  true,  and  in  a 
terrible  manner.  A  month  later,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  news- 
papers of  the  period,  yellow-fever  broke  out  in  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  the  two  sisters  were  carried  off  by  it. 

(B)  *'  Another  time,  in  1868,  my  same  aunt  saw  in  a  dream 
a  domestic  scene  which  proved  to  be  a  prediction.  The  scene 
was  in  the  apartment  of  one  of  her  friends,  Madame  B.,  who 
was  sitting  in  an  arm-chair  near  the  fireplace;  on  the  hearth 
burned  a  bright  fire,  and  she  was  caressing  a  baby  whom  she 
held  in  her  arms,  while  a  servant  was  drying  his  napkins  at 
the  fire.  This  was  told  to  several  people,  who  did  not  seem 
to  pay  much  attention  to  it ;  for  Madame  B.,  already  the 
mother  of  a  numerous  family,  was  past  forty,  and  having  had 
no  children  for  seven  years,  it  did  not  seem  likely  she  would 
have  any  more.  However,  what  seemed  so  improbable  was 
realized  a  year  later,  and  one  evening  when  my  great-aunt 
went  to  visit  her  after  her  confinement,  to  congratulate  her 
on  the  birth  of  her  youngest  child,  she  saw  precisely  the 
scene  she  had  witnessed  in  her  dream.  The  room,  the  fur- 
niture, the  bright  fire,  the  woman  occupied  in  drying  infant 
clothes — all  the  details  of  the  dream,  in  short,  were  repro- 
duced faithfully.  The  divination  of  an  event  in  the  future 
was  perfectly  realized.  Emilio  Becher. 

"Rosario  de  Santa  Fe,  Argentine  Republic." 
Letter  800. 

LXVII.  "  I  was  brought  up  in  Paris,  where  my  people  had 
been  long  established  as  wine  merchants,  at  7  Rue  Saint  Am- 
broise.  My  father  died  in  1867.  My  mother  and  I  quitted 
Paris  in  1872.  I  had  also  an  uncle,  my  father's  brother,  who 
died  subsequently,  and  who  was  a  grocer,  32  Rue  Saint  Roch. 

(A.)  ^'  In  1868,  when  I  was  seventeen  years  old,  I  was  em- 
ployed by  this  uncle  as  his  clerk.  One  day  after  I  had 
wished  him  good-morning,  and  while  he  was  still  under  the 
impression  of  a  dream  he  had  had  during  the  night,  he  told 

461 


THE    UNKNOWN 

me  that  in  it  he  had  dreamed  that  he  was  standing  on  his 
door-step,  when,  looking  in  the  direction  of  the  Rue  Neuve- 
des-Petits  Champs,  he  saw  an  omnibus  turn  into  the  street  be- 
longing to  the  Compagnie  des  Chemin  de  Fer  du  Nord, 
which  drew  up  before  his  shop  door.  His  mother  got  out  of 
it,  and  the  omnibus  went  on,  carrying  away  in  it  another 
traveller  who  had  been  sitting  beside  my  grandmother.  This 
was  a  lady  dressed  in  black,  with  a  large  basket  on  her 
knees. 

'^We  were  both  much  amused  by  that  dream,  which  we 
thought  could  have  no  connection  with  reality,  for  never 
would  my  grandmother  have  ventured  to  come  by  the  North- 
ern Railroad  to  the  Rue  St.  Roch.  She  lived  at  Beauvais, 
and  whenever  she  made  up  her  mind  to  come  to  see  any  of 
her  children,  who  lived  in  Paris,  she  wrote  by  preference  to 
my  uncle,  who  was  the  one  of  her  children  that  she  cared  for 
most,  and  he  went  to  meet  her  at  the  train,  and  always  put 
her  into  a  hackney  coach. 

'^  Now  on  this  day,  in  the  afternoon,  as  my  uncle  stood  on 
his  doorstep,  looking  at  the  people  who  passed  by,  his  eyes 
chanced  to  turn  in  the  direction  of  the  Rue  Neuve  des  Petits 
Champs,  when  he  saw  an  omnibus  belonging  to  the  Northern 
Railroad  turn  into  the  street  and  stop  before  his  door. 

*'  In  this  omnibus  there  were  two  ladies,  one  of  whom,  my 
grandmother,  got  out,  and  the  omnibus  went  on  carrying  the 
other  lady  just  as  he  had  seen  her  in  his  dream,  dressed  in 
black,  and  with  a  basket  on  her  lap. 

*^  Imagine  how  astonished  we  all  were  !  My  grandmother 
had  planned  to  take  us  by  surprise,  and  my  uncle  told  her 
his  dream. 

^'  My  other  fact  is  a  case  of  palmistry. 

(B)  "  During  the  siege  of  Paris  I  was  enrolled  among  the 
mobiles  of  the  tenth  batallion  of  the  Seine.  One  day,  when 
I  was  dining  with  my  mother,  there  was  also  at  table  one  of 
my  cousins,  a  medical  student,  who  now  owns  property  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Dieppe.  One  of  my  friends,  who,  like  me, 
was  a  clerk  in  a  grocery  store  and  a  sergeant  in  our  company  of 
mobiles,  was  there  also,  likewise  a  friend  of  mine  who  was  a 

463 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

draughtsman,  and  who  now  lives  at  1  Boulevard  Beaumar- 
chais.  And  lastly,  there  was  a  man  who  bought  wines  from 
my  father  (I  told  you  he  was  a  wine-merchant).  This  gentle- 
man, who  was  a  man  of  means,  and  remarkably  intelligent, 
had  been  made  sergeant-major  in  the  192d  battalion.  I  do 
not  remember  his  name  ;  we  will  call  him  Monsieur  X. 

*' At  the  close  of  the  dinner,  and  while  we  were  speaking  of 
the  Germans,  who  surrounded  us.  Monsieur  X.  began  to  exam- 
ine the  lines  in  our  hands,  telling  us  that  he  had  made  a  study 
of  chiromancy,  and  offering  to  tell  us  if  anything  of  impor- 
tance would  befall  us  in  the  course  of  the  present  events. 
Naturally,  we  all  asked  him  if  we  should  be  wounded  ?  He 
said  no — not  three  of  us,  M.  Lucas,  the  student,  M.  Frangois, 
the  draughtsman,  and  myself  would  not  be  hurt.  As  for  the 
fourth  one,  the  sergeant  of  mobiles,  M.  Lallier,  Monsieur  X. 
told  him,  after  having  minutely  examined  the  palm  of  his 
hand  :  ^  This  is  strange.  You  will  be  seriously  hurt,  and 
that  soon,  but  it  will  not  be  by  a  weapon.  You  will  be  burnt.' 
'How  will  that  be?'  asked  Lallier.  'I  cannot  tell  you; 
accidentally,  no  doubt,'  replied  Monsieur  X.,  and  we  went  on 
to  speak  of  other  things. 

'^  This  took  place  at  the  close  of  1870. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  year  1871 1  went  to  Bordeaux,  whence 
I  returned  in  November ;  and  as  I  passed  by  Tours  I  stopped 
to  see  my  friend  Lallier,  who  had  found  employment  there 
after  the  close  of  the  war.  When  I  saw  him  I  was  struck  at 
once  by  the  great  change  in  him,  without  being  able  to  im- 
agine what  had  altered  him  so  much  until  he  said  to  me,'  Do 
you  remember  the  predictions  of  Monsieur  X.  ?  What  he  told 
me  was,  unhappily,  too  true.  Two  months  ago  a  lad  in  the 
store  most  imprudently  carried  a  lighted  candle  into  a  room 
where  there  were  two  hogsheads  of  petroleum  ;  through  his 
carelessness  one  of  these  took  fire ;  I  tried  to  move  the  other 
to  prevent  greater  danger.  The  petroleum  caught  fire  the 
moment  I  touched  the  hogshead.  I  had  all  my  left  side 
burned,  and  it  is  only  two  weeks  since  I  came  back  to  work 
again.' 

''  Was  this  a  mere  coincidence,  or  did  the  man  who  had 

463 


THE    UNKNOWN 

studied  chiromancy  really  see  the  future  accident  in  Lallier's 
hand  ? 

"  I  mention  these  two  facts  because  I  know  them  to  be  abso- 
lutely true.  Both  took  place  in  my  presence,  and  I  had  it  in 
my  power  to  discredit  or  confirm  them.  I  have  often  men- 
tioned them  to  my  people  and  my  friends,  without  being  able 
to  get  any  explanation  that  satisfied  me,  except  for  a  part  of 
my  uncle^s  dream,  though  I  have  tried  ever  since  I  read  your 
interesting  articles  on  the  subject. 

''1  suppose  my  grandmother,  while  lying  awake,  may  have 
taken  a  sudden  notion  to  leave  for  Paris  that  very  day,  resolv- 
ing to  tell  nobody,  and  on  her  arrival  at  the  station  to  take  a 
carriage,  as  she  had  often  seen  other  people  do,  and  so  enjoy 
the  surprise  her  arrival  would  be  to  her  son.  No  doubt  it  was 
at  the  very  moment  that  she  made  this  plan  that  my  uncle  had 
his  dream.  Paul  Lekoux. 

"  Neubourg,  Eure."  Letter  825. 

LXIX.  '^  In  1879  my  uncle,  Jacques  Theodore  Hoffman,' 
was  a  schoolmaster  at  Heerenveen  (Holland).  My  father 
went  to  see  him  at  the  beginning  of  July,  when  his  sister-in- 
law,  my  aunt  Marguerite,  told  him  before  his  departure  that 
she  had  seen  in  a  dream  my  uncle  Jacques's  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren dressed  in  deep  mourning;  therefore  she  feared  some- 
thing might  happen,  and  if  they  went  out  in  a  boat  he  must 
be  very  careful,  etc. 

"  My  father  and  his  brother  Jacques,  on  July  7th,  took  a 
long  sail ;  no  accident  happened,  and  they  made  fun  of  Aunt 
Marguerite's  dream. 

"  Two  days  later,  on  the  9th  of  July,  they  took  my  father  to 
the  railway  station.  Part  of  the  family  were  there.  My 
uncle  Jacques,  crossing  the  tracks,  did  not  notice  a  train 
which  was  coming  into  the  station.  He  was  knocked  down 
and  killed,  his  head  rolling  some  distance  from  his  body. 

^'  My  two  aunts  and  the  two  children  are  still  living,  and 
can  certify  to  the  realization  of  this  dream. 

N.    C.   A.   HOFFMAI?^, 
"  Medical  Student  at  the  University  of  Amsterdam. 
"25  Rue  de  France."  Letter  850. 

464 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

After  reading  and  comparing  this  collection  of  facts,  it 
seems  to  us  impossible  that  any  one  can  doubt  that  future 
things  are  sometimes  seen  in  dreams. 

Several  of  these  dreams  may  perhaps  be  explained  natur- 
ally. For  instance,  a  person  might  as  readily  dream  of  one 
number  to  be  drawn  as  another,  and  as  these  cases,  of  the 
kind  related  here,  are  rare,  fortuitous  coincidence  may  per- 
haps explain  them.  It  would  be  necessary  to  know  how 
many  numbers  were  in  the  urn  to  know  if  the  chance  nota- 
bly surpassed  that  which  would  be  given  by  a  calculation  of 
probabilities.  But  the  greater  part  of  the  premonitions  we 
have  here  brought  to  light  cannot  be  explained. 

Some  are  dreams  in  sleep,  some  are  waking  dreams,  which 
seem  to  have  taken  place  when  persons  were  in  their  normal 
state  of  health,  or  very  nearly  so,  and  not  in  exceptional 
pathological  cases.  These  examples  are  likewise  very  nu- 
merous.    We  will  point  out  a  few  of  them. 

Dr.  Liebault  quotes  the  following  case  in  his  Therajpeu- 
tique  suggestive  : 

LXX.  ''^In  a  family  in  the  neighborhood  of  Nancy  a  young 
girl  named  Julie,  eighteen  years  old,  was  often  put  into  a 
magnetic  sleep.  When  once  in  a  state  of  somnambulism  she 
was  transported  out  of  herself,  as  if  she  had  received  inspi- 
ration, and  she  insisted  on  repeating  at  every  seance  that  a 
certain  member  of  the  family,  whom  she  named,  would  die 
before  the  1st  of  January.  It  was  then  November,  1883. 
Such  persistence  on  the  part  of  the  sleeper  led  the  head 
of  the  family,  who  thought  he  might  do  a  good  stroke  of 
business,  to  secure  a  policy  of  insurance  on  the  life  of  the 
lady  in  question  for  ten  thousand  francs.  She  was  in  no  way 
ill,  and  he  readily  obtained  a  doctor's  certificate.  To  raise 
this  sum  he  applied  to  Monsieur  L.  He  wrote  him  several 
letters,  explaining  why  he  wanted  to  borrow  money.  These 
letters  Monsieur  L.  preserved,  and  showed  them  to  me.  He 
regards  them  as  irrefragible  proofs  of  the  future  event  an- 
nounced as  sure  to  happen. 

"At  last  they  settled  the  question  of  interest,  and  the  af- 
fair remained  in  abeyance.     But  some  time  after  great  was 

465 


THE    UNKNOWN 

the  deception  of  the  borrower.  Madame  X.,  whom  he  ex- 
pected to  die  before  January  1st,  suddenly  died  on  December 
31st,  which  is  proved  by  a  letter  dated  January  2d,  and  writ- 
ten to  Monsieur  L.,  which  he  keeps  among  the  others  relat- 
ing to  the  same  person." 

The  same  writer  gives  the  following  case,  also  quoted  ex- 
actly from  his  daily  note-book.  We  all  know  M.  Liebault  to 
be  a  most  scrupulous  and  methodical  observer. 

LXXI.  ''January  7,  1886. — There  came  to  consult  me  to- 
day, at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  M.  S.  de  Ch ,  for  a 

nervous  condition  of  much  gravity.     M.  de  Ch is  much 

troubled  in  his  mind  about  a  law-suit  that  is  now  going  on, 
and  other  things  involved  in  it.  In  1879,  on  the  26th  of 
December,  as  he  was  walking  along  one  of  the  streets  in 
Paris ;  he  saw  written  on  a  door,  '  Madame  Lenormand,  fe- 
male necromancer.'  Urged  by  curiosity,  he,  without  reflec- 
tion, entered  the  house,  and,  when  there,  was  conducted  into 
a  darkened  chamber.  There  he  awaited  Madame  Lenor- 
mand, who  having  been  told  at  once  of  his  arrival,  soon  came 
in.  Looking  carefully  at  the  palm  of  one  of  his  hands,  she 
said  to  him  :  '  You  will  lose  your  father  in  a  year  on  this 
very  anniversary.  Very  soon  you  will  be  a  soldier  (he  was  then 
nineteen),  but  you  will  not  remain  long.  You  will  marry 
young ;  you  will  have  two  children ;  and  you  will  die  when 
you  are  twenty-six  years  old.' 

"  This  stupefying  prophecy,  which  M.  de  Ch confided 

to  several  of  his  friends,  and  to  some  of  his  own  family,  he 
did  not  at  first  think  much  of  ;  but  when  his  father  died 
on  the  27th  of  December  in  the  following  year,  after  a  short 
illness,  and  just  a  year  after  his  son's  interview  with  Madame 
Lenormand,  the  loss  made  a  change  in  his  incredulity.  When 
he  became  a  soldier — only  for  seven  months — and  when,  hav- 
ing married  shortly  after,  two  children  were  born  to  him, 
when  he  was  about  twenty-six,  he  became  overcome  by  fear, 
and  thought  he  had  only  a  short  time  to  live.  It  was  then  that 
he  came  to  see  me  to  ask  if  it  would  not  be  possible  to  break 
the  spell.  For  otherwise,  as  the  first  four  prophecies  had 
been  accomplished,  he  thought  the  fifth  would  surely  be  ful- 

466 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

filled.     That  day,  and  for  several  days,  I  tried  to  put  M.  de 

Ch into  a  deep  magnetic  sleep,  in  order  that  he  should 

throw  off  the  idea  that  was  weighing  on  his  spirits  —  that, 
namely,  of  his  approaching  death,  which  he  calculated  would 
take  place  on  the  4th  of  February,  which  was  his  birthday. 
Madame  Lenormand  had  told  him  nothing  upon  this  point. 
I  could  not  in  any  way  put  the  young  man  to  sleep — he  was 
too  agitated.  Nevertheless,  as  he  urged  me  to  deliver,  him 
from  the  conviction  that  he  must  soon  succumb  (a  most 
dangerous  conviction,  for  one  has  often  seen  convictions  of 
this  kind  accomplish  an  auto-suggestion  to  the  letter),  I 
changed  my  treatment,  and  I  recommended  him  to  consult 
one  of  my  somnambulists,  an  old  man  nearly  seventy  years  of 
age,  who  was  called  the  prophet,  because,  when  I  had  put 
him  into  a  magnetic  sleep,  he  had,  without  an  error,  proph- 
esied the  exact  time  of  his  cure  from  rheumatism  in  his 
joints,  which  he  had  suffered  from  for  four  years ;  also  the 

cure  of  his  daughter.     M.  de  Ch accepted  my  proposal 

with  eagerness,  and  did  not  fail  to  come  at  the  right  time 
to  the  interview  which  I  arranged  for  him.  Having  entered 
into  rapport  with  the  somnambulist,  his  first  question  was, 
'  When  shall  I  die  ?'  The  experienced  sleeper  suspected  the 
state  of  the  young  man's  mind,  and  answered,  after  a  pause, 
^You  will  die  .  .  .  you  will  die  .  .  .  forty -one  years  from 
now  r  The  effect  of  these  words  was  marvellous.  Imme- 
diately my  patient  became  gay,  talkative,  and  full  of  hope. 
When  the  4th  of  February  was  past,  the  day  he  had  dreaded, 
he  thought  himself  saved. 

''^It  was  then  that  some  of  those  who  had  heard  of  this  sad 
history,  agreed  in  concluding  that  there  was  nothing  what- 
ever true  about  it ;  that  it  was  merely  a  post-hypnotic  sug- 
gestion, and  that  the  young  man  had  imagined  everything. 
They  were  all  wrong.  Fate  had  decided  on  his  destiny.  He 
was  to  die. 

"I  had  forgotten  all  about  him  when,  at  the  beginning  of 
October,  I  received  an  announcement  of  his  death  (ime  lettre 
de  faire  part),  by  which  I  learned  that  my  unfortunate  pa- 
tient had  died  on  September  30,  1885,  in  his  twenty-seventh 

467 


THE    UNKNOWN 

year — that  is  to  say,  while  he  was  still  twenty-six,  as  Madame 
Lenormand  had  predicted.  And  that  no  one  may  suppose 
that  there  is  any  error  on  my  part,  I  have  preserved  this  let- 
ter among  my  papers.  So  there  are  two  written  testimonies 
to  the  fact." 

Here  is  another  case  of  the  same  kind,  not  less  curious, 
told  to  M.  A.  Erny,  by  Madame  Lecomte  de  Lisle,  sister-in- 
law  of  the  poet,  and  cousin  of  one  of  his  friends : 

LXXII.  '^  K  certain  Monsieur  X.  took  a  fancy  to  consult  a 
woman  who  told  fortunes  by  cards.  She  predicted  that  he 
would  die  by  the  sting  of  a  snake.  Monsieur  X.  was  employed 
by  government.  He  had  always  refused  a  position  in  Marti- 
nique, because  it  was  an  island  much  infested  by  serpents  of 
a  dangerous  kind. 

^'At  last  Monsieur  B.,  Director  of  the  Interior  atGuadeloupe, 
persuaded  him  to  accept  a  good  situation  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  colony  under  his  charge,  which,  although  near 
Martinique,  had  never  been  known  to  have  any  serpents. 

"iVb  man  escapes  his  destiny!  says  the  proverb,  which  this 
time,  among  others,  proved  true. 

'^  Having  finished  his  work  in  Martinique,  Monsieur  X.  set 
sail  for  France  ;  and  the  boat  having  stopped,  as  it  always  did, 
at  Martinique,  he  declined  to  go  ashore. 

"As  usual,  negro  women  came  on  board  the  boat  to  sell 
fruit.  Monsieur  X.,  being  thirsty,  took  an  orange  out  of  the 
basket  of  one  of  these  negresses,  when  he  nttered  a  sharp  cry 
and  said  he  was  stung.  The  woman  turned  up  her  basket, 
and  there  was  a  snake,  which  had  hidden  itself,  not  among 
the  fruit,  but  under  the  green  leaves  that  covered  it.  They 
killed  the  serpent,  but  poor  Monsieur  X.  died  a  few  hours 
afterwards." 

The  extraordinary  case  of  clairvoyance  and  prevision  that 
comes  next,  was  published  in  the  same  collection  (1896,  p. 
205).* 

LXXIII.  "A  lady,  one  of  my  friends.  Lady  A.,  lived  on 
the  Champs-filysees.     One  evening  in  October,  1883,  I  had 

^  Annates  des  sciences  iisychiques. 
468 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

dined  with  her.  Notwithstanding  her  large  fortune  she  was 
a  woman  of  business.  Being  very  active,  she  gave  but  few 
hours  to  sleep.  Every  evening  when  her  guests  had  departed 
she  settled  her  accounts. 

"  On  this  particular  evening  what  was  her  astonishment,  her 
terror,  to  find  that  the  sum  of  3500  or  3600  francs  was  miss- 
ing from  the  inner  pocket  of  the  immense  travelling-bag  in 
which  she  was  in  the  habit  of  keeping  her  jewels  and  her 
money. 

*'  The  lock,  however,  had  not  been  forced  ;  the  edges  of  the 
bag  only  had  been  a  little  frayed.  Nevertheless  Lady  A.  was 
certain  that  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  she  had 
opened  the  bag  and  paid  a  bill  in  the  presence  of  her  maid, 
and  she  was  sure  that  she  had  then  put  the  money  back  in  its 
usual  place.  In  her  distress  she  rang  for  her  maid,  who  could 
give  her  no  information,  but  who  had  had  time  to  let  all  the 
household  know  that  a  robbery  had  been  committed.  As  a 
result  of  this,  the  thief,  or  thieves,  if  they  were  among  the 
domestics,  had  had  time  to  put  their  plunder  in  a  place  of 
safety. 

''At  daylight  the  next  day  the  commissary  of  police  at 
the  Rue  Berryer  was  notified.  Masters  and  servants  were 
searched,  the  wardrobes,  the  closets,  and  the  furniture. 

"  Naturally  they  found  nothing. 

''  The  commissary  having  completed  his  fruitless  search, 
talked  for  a  moment  with  Lady  A.  He  asked  her  what  were 
her  own  impressions  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  robbery 
had  been  accomplished,  and  which  among  the  servants  were 
least  worthy  of  confidence. 

"Lady  A.,  in  enumerating  her  servants,  begged  the  com- 
missary to  exclude  from  suspicion  her  second  footman,  a 
young  man  of  eighteen  or  nineteen,  very  good  looking,  very 
respectful,  very  well  acquainted  with  his  business,  whom 
they  had  nicknamed  Le  Petit,  not  on  account  of  his  stature, 
for  he  was  rather  tall,  but  from  a  sentiment  of  familiar  kind- 
liness which  his  good  qualities  had  obtained  for  him. 

'*  The  morning  had  nearly  all  passed  in  these  formalities, 
entirely  without  result,  when,  about  eleven  o'clock,  Lady  A. 

469 


THE    UNKNOWN 

sent  her  youngest  daughter's  governess  to  my  house  to  inform 
me  of  what  had  happened  and  to  beg  me  to  accompany  her 
to  the  house  of  a  chiirvoyant,  whose  powers  I  had  spoken 
highly  of  a  few  days  before. 

''  I  did  not  myself  know  this  clairvoyant,  but  a  lady  in  my 
family  had  told  me  of  one  of  her  consultations,  where  she  had 
distinguished  herself  in  her  predictions  of  the  future.  We 
went  there. 

'^  Seeing  us  together  she  wished  to  separate  us.  We  made 
her  understand  that  as  we  came  for  the  same  purpose  we 
wished  only  one  consultation. 

"  She  may  or  may  not  have  taken  us  for  the  same  family. 
She  asked  us  simply,  whether  the  affair  in  regard  to  which  we 
came  was  specially  near  to  the  person  of  one  or  other  of  us. 
I  designated  Mademoiselle  C;  for,  as  she  lived  in  Lady  A.'s 
apartment  she  had  really  been  the  person  nearest  to  the  scene 
of  the  robbery. 

'^  Madame  E.,  our  clairvoyant,  then  brought  a  bowl  filled 
with  clear  coffee,  without  sugar  or  cream,  and  begged  Made- 
moiselle C.  to  breathe  over  it  three  times,  after  which  the 
coffee  was  poured  into  another  bowl,  and  the  first  was  fitted 
over  the  second  so  that  its  contents  passed  partly  into  the 
new  receiver,  leaving  only  on  its  inner  surface  some  of  the 
coffee-grounds,  which,  in  consequence  of  the  escape  of  the 
liquid,  formed  strange  patterns  which  had  no  meaning  for 
US,  but  in  which  the  pythoness  seemed  to  find  something. 

''  During  this  mysterious  preparation  it  was  necessary  to 
entertain  us,  so  that  Madame  E.  shuffled  her  cards,  and 
began : 

'^  Ah .  .  .  but  ...  it  is  a  robbery,  and  a  robbery  commit- 
ted by  one  of  the  persons  in  the  house,  and  not  by  some  one 
surreptitiously  introduced  from  outside,  etc.,  etc. 

^'  This  promised  well.  We  admitted  that  what  she  stated 
was  true.  As  to  the  thief,  his  identity  was  unfortunately 
omitted. 

'^'Wait,'  said  Madame  E.,  ^I  am  now  going  to  observe 
the  coffee-grounds,  which  must  have  formed  their  deposit.' 

''  She  seized  the  overturned  bowl,  and  made  Mademoiselle 

470 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

C.  breathe  upon  it  again  three  times,  after  which  she  took 
up  her  eye-glass. 

'^Then,  as  if  she  had  taken  part  in  the  scene,  she  de- 
scribed to  us,  bit  by  bit,  the  topography  of  Lady  A/s  apart- 
ment, without  ever  being  mistaken  either  as  to  the  bed- 
room or  the  salon.  She  saw  pass  in  defile  before  her  seven 
servants,  whose  sexes  and  characteristics  she  exactly  de- 
scribed. Then  penetrating  again  into  Lady  A.'s  chamber, 
she  perceived  a  wardrobe  which  seemed  to  her  very  pe- 
culiar. 

"  '  She  has,'  she  repeated,  with  astonishment,  '  a  cupboard, 
the  centre  of  the  door  of  which  is  covered  with  a  mirror; 
and  on  each  side  of  this  principal  part  of  the  wardrobe  there 
are  two  doors  without  glass  ;  and  all  this  contains  ..." 

^^  'Oh,  mon  Dieu  !  .  .  .  why  is  this  wardrobe  never  closed  ? 
although  it  always  contains  money,  which  is  .  .  .  in  .  .  . 
in  .  .  .  What  a  strange  object !  ...  It  opens  like  a  porte- 
monnaie  in  the  shape  of  a  bag  .  .  .;  not  like  a  box.  .  .  .  Ah, 
I  have  it  !  it  is  a  travelling-bag.  .  .  .  What  an  idea,  to  put 
money  in  there  !  and,  above  all,  how  imprudent  to  leave  the 
wardrobe  open  !  .  .    . 

'''The  thieves  know  the  bag  well.  .  .  .  They  have  not 
forced  the  lock.  They  have  introduced  some  object  into  it 
in  order  to  separate  the  two  sides ;  then,  with  the  help  of 
scissors  or  pincers,  they  have  extracted  the  money,  which 
was  in  bank-notes.  .  .  .' 

"We  had  let  her  go  on  speaking.  All  that  this  woman 
had  told  us  confounded  us  by  the  truth  of  its  details,  even 
the  most  trivial. 

"She  stopped  from  fatigue.  We  wished  to  know  more. 
We  begged  her,  we  implored  her,  to  tell  us  which  of  the 
servants  had  committed  this  theft,  since  she  had  already 
assured  us  that  it  was  one  of  the  household. 

"  She  added  that  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  do  this  with- 
out bringing  herself  within  reach  of  the  French  law,  which 
cannot,  and  indeed   ought  not,  allow  any  one  to  be  con- 


^  It  was  an  English  wardrobe,  such  as  she  had  no  doubt  never  seen. 

471 


THE    UNKNOWN 

sidered  a  criminal,  without  proofs,  and  never  by  the  aid  of 
occult  means. 

'*  By  force  of  insistence,  however,  she  assured  us  that 
Lady  A/s  money  would  never  be  recovered.  This  was  very 
probable,  since  the  thief  could  not  be  arrested  for  the  rob- 
bery, and  then,  what  was  more  surprising,  she  said  that 
^  two  years  later  the  criminal  would  suffer  capital  punish- 
ment.' 

^'  Whenever  her  glance,  wandering  over  the  patterns  made 
by  the  coffee,  fell  on  what  seemed  to  concern  Le  Petit,  she 
said  she  had  seen  him  among  horses.  We  assured  her  that 
he  had  never  acted  as  groom,  having  been  occupied  exclusive- 
ly with  house  service,  and  the  grooms  lived  with  the  coach- 
men ;  but  Madame  E.  persisted  in  what  she  said.  The  more 
we  contradicted  her,  the  more  she  was  convinced. 

"  We  ended  by  yielding  this  little  point,  which  neverthe- 
less annoyed  us,  as  a  blemish  in  an  otherwise  perfect  whole, 
for  this  consultation  had  been  surprising  in  its  accuracy. 

"  Lady  A.,  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight,  dismissed  her  house 
steward  and  her  maid.  Le  Petit,  for  some  reason  unknown 
to  us,  left  Lady  A.  three  or  four  weeks  later.  The  money 
was  never  recovered ;  and  a  year  later  Lady  A.  set  out  for 
Egypt. 

"  Two  years  after  the  event  described.  Lady  A.  received  a 
summons  from  the  Tribunal  of  the  Seine,  to  appear  in  Paris 
as  a  witness. 

"  The  person  who  committed  the  robbery  in  her  house  had 
been  found.  He  had  just  been  taken  into  custody.  Le  Petit, 
gifted  with  so  many  excellent  qualities,  was  no  other  than 
Marchandon,  the  murderer  of  Madame  Cornet. 

"  As  is  well  known,  he  suffered  capital  punishment,  as  the 
clairvoyant  in  la  Rue  N"otre-Dame-de-Loratte  had  told  us, 
and  during  the  trial  it  was  shown  that  Le  Petit  had  a  brother 
who  was  coachman  in  a  large  house  in  the  Champs-filysees, 
very  near  Lady  A.'s  residence. 

'^  Le  Petit,  or  Marchandon,  since  they  are  one  and  the 
same,  made  use  of  all  his  free  moments  when  in  Lady  A.'s 
service,  to  go  to  his  brother's,  for  he  was  a  great  lover  of 

472 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

horses.  This,  therefore,  was  the  reason  that  Madame  E.  had 
insisted,  in  spite  of  onr  contradictions,  that  she  had  seen  him 
repeatedly  among  horses. 

*'  She  had  indeed  really  seen  in  this  little  detail  what  the 

incidents  of  the  trial  revealed  to  us. 

"L.  d'Ervieux. 
''  Certified  to  be  the  truth. 

"C.  Deslions, 
"Present  at  the  consultation." 

"  Remark  :  This  case  of  clairvoyance  is  absolutely  ex- 
traordinary. We  have  seen  Lady  A.,  who  confirmed  the  ac- 
curacy of  the  preceding  recital. 

*■'  The  cards  and  the  coffee-grounds  were  evidently  only  a 
means  employed  by  the  clairvoyant  to  put  herself  in  auto- 
somnambulism — that  is  to  say,  in  a  secondary  state,  where  nor- 
mal consciousness  became  inactive  to  the  advantage  of  un- 
consciousness. In  this  secondary  state  the  unconscious 
faculties  can  assume  their  full  powers,  and  it  is  possible  to 
believe  that  the  faculty  of  clairvoyance  which  we  all,  per- 
haps, possess  in  a  more  or  less  rudimentary  degree,  can  act 
more  freely  in  a  predisposed  subject,  and  acquire  a  certain 
degree  of  precision.  Darieux." 

M.  Myers  quotes,  in  the  ^ame  publication  (1899,  p.  170), 
the  following  case  of  the  repetition  of  a  premonitory  dream : 

"  Sixty  years  ago  a  Mrs.  Carleton  died  in  the  county  of 
Leitrim.  She  was  the  intimate  friend  of  my  mother,  and  a 
few  days  after  her  death  she  appeared  to  her  in  a  dream 
and  told  her  that  she  would  never,  but  once  more,  see  her  in 
a  dream,  which  would  be  twenty-four  hours  before,  her  own 
death.  In  March,  1864,  my  mother  lived  with  my  brother- 
in-law,  and  my  daughter,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Lyon,  at  Dalkey. 
On  the  evening  of  the  2d  of  March,  Dr.  Lyon  hearing  a  noise 
in  my  mother's  chamber,  woke  up  Mrs.  Lyon,  and  sent  her 
to  see  what  had  happened.  She  found  my  mother  half  out 
of  bed,  with  an  expression  of  horror  on  her  features.  They 
gave  her  the  best  attention,  and  the  next  morning  she  seemed 
restored  to  her   ordinary    condition.     She   breakfasted,    as 

473 


THE    UNKNOWN 

usual,  in  bed,  and  seemed  to  be  in  good  spirits.  She  asked 
my  daughter  to  tell  the  servant  to  bring  the  water  for  a 
bath,  which  she  took.  She  then  sent  for  Mrs.  Lyon,  and 
told  her  that  Mrs.  Carleton  had  just  come,  after  an  interval 
of  fifty-six  years,  to  warn  her  of  her  approaching  death,  and 
that  she  should  die  the  next  morning  at  the  same  hour  at 
which  they  had  found  her  in  the  state  they  had  described. 
She  added  that  she  had  taken  the  precaution  to  take  a  bath 
in  order  to  avoid  the  necessity  for  washing  her  body.  She 
then  began  to  sink  by  slow  degrees,  and  died  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  as  she  had  said. 

*'Dr.  and  Mrs.  Lyon  can  confirm  this  account.  My 
mother  had  always  told  me  that  she  would  see  Mrs.  Carleton 
again  just  before  her  death.  Thomas  James  Norris. 

"Dalkey,  Ireland." 

Attestations  follow. 

M.  Myers  writes  in  this  connection  : 

"There  are,"  he  says,  "three  possible  explanations  of  these 
facts. 

"  I  am  myself  very  much  disposed  to  admit  that  the  de- 
deased  Mrs.  Carleton  really  knew  of  the  illness  which  threat- 
ened her  friend,  and  that  the  two  dreams  were  produced  tel- 
epathically  by  a  disembodied  spirit  influencing  a  spirit  still 
in  the  flesh.  But  it  is  also  possible  to  suppose  that  the  first 
dream,  although  purely  accidental,  produced  such  a  pro- 
found impression  that,  when  it  reproduced  itself,  also  by  chance, 
it  was  equivalent  to  an  auto-suggestion  of  death.  Or  again, 
we  may  suppose  that  the  first  dream  was  accidental,  but  that 
the  second  was  symbolic,  and  was  produced  by  some  or- 
ganic sensation,  which  was  the  prelude  to  immediate  death, 
but  was  perceptible  during  sleep,  before  being  so  in  the  wak- 
ing state. 

"  There  are  cases,  however,  when  the  predictions  in  a  dream 
are  made  so  long  in  advance,  and  with  so  much  latitude,  as 
regards  the  date  fixed  for  decease  that  it  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive that  the  result  is  due  to  auto-suggestion." 

We  will  not  begin  here  the  discussion  of  the  great  problem 

474 


PREMONITORY    DREAMS 

of  commnnication  with  the  dead,  which  would  require,  on 
its  own  account,  developments  indispensable  to  its  elucida- 
tion, if,  indeed,  we  could  achieve  that  end.  Several  of  the 
examples  already  quoted  have  called  attention  to  this  point. 
A  considerable  number  of  these  are  in  our  possession,  but 
the  analysis  of  them  would  require  labor  even  more  careful 
than  that  which  has  presided  over  the  preceding  investiga- 
tions, in  which  we  have  not  gone  outside  the  limits  of  liv- 
ing beings.  What  we  have  intended  to  establish  here,  by 
the  publication  of  these  premonitary  dreams,  is  that  dreams 
have  really  foreseen  and  announced  the  future. 

For  the  moment  we  will  go  no  further.  The  human 
being  is  endowed  with  faculties  whose  nature  is  still  un- 
known to  us,  but  which  permit  him  to  see  from  a  distance 
into  space  and  time.  This  is  what  we  have  wished  to  demon- 
strate by  a  mass  of  satisfactory  evidence. 

Space  is  lacking  in  this  volume  to  treat  of  the  question  of 
presentiynents,  as  well  as  that  of  the  divination  of  the  future 
in  the  waking  state,  and  we  are  forced  to  postpone  these  in- 
teresting investigations  until  later.  This  fact,  also,  has  been 
answered  for  us  in  the  afl&rmative.  The  curious  impression 
of  the  already  seen  (le  dejd  vu)  will  afterwards  be  examined. 
Then  we  shall  reach  the  eternal  problem  of  free  will  and  of 
destiny ;  we  shall  prove  that  the  future  state  exists  as  surely 
as  the  past  and  the  present,  and  that  it  is  determined  by  the 
causes  which  induce  it,  in  virtue  of  the  absolute  principle 
that  there  are  no  effects  without  causes,  the  human  soul  with 
all  its  faculties  being  one  of  these  causes. 

Everything  cannot  be  accomplished  at  once,  and  I  should 
rather  offer  an  apology  for  the  enormous  size  of  this  first  vol- 
ume, and  for  the  prolonged  strain  to  which  I  have  subjected 
my  readers  of  both  sexes.  But  what  was  before  all  important 
to  accomplish,  was  that  the  phenomena  should  receive  a  me- 
thodical classification,  that  they  should  be  studied  in  order, 
each  section  being  complete,  and  that  nothing  should  be  ac- 
cepted except  what  appeared  to  our  reason  to  be  demonstrated 
as  morally  certain. 

The  telepathic  manifestations  of  the  dying,  the  transmis- 

475 


THE    UNKNOWN 

siou  of  thought,  the  psychic  action  of  one  human  being  upon 
another  at  a  distance  without  the  medium  of  the  senses,  sight 
at  a  distance,  and  the  prevision  of  the  future  in  dreams  and 
somnambulism,  are  for  us  certain  facts.  It  has  seemed  to 
us  logical  to  commence  by  these  our  investigation  of  the  in- 
visible world. 


CONCLUSION 


The  docnments  presented  to  the  reader  in  this  volume  de- 
mand the  attention  of  all  lovers  of  truth.  They  are  far  from 
embracing  the  whole  range  of  psychic  phenomena,  but  they 
will  lead  us  to  certain  preliminary  conclusions. 

The  object  of  these  researches  is  to  discover  if  the  soul  of 
man  exists  as  an  entity,  independent  of  his  body,  and  if  it 
will  survive  the  destruction  of  the  same. 

Well  !  here  are  facts  brought  forward  to  plead  in  favor  of  its 
existence. 

It  is  certain  that  one  soul  can  influence  another  soul  at  a 
distance,  and  without  the  aid  of  the  senses. 

Many  dead  persons  whose  examples  are  herein  given  have 
been  told  by  telepathic  communications,  by  apparitions  (sub- 
jective or  objective),  called  by  voices  they  distinctly  heard, 
by  songs,  noises,  and  movements  (real  or  imaginary),  and  im- 
pressions of  different  kinds.  We  can  have  no  doubt  upon 
this  point.     The  soul  can  act  at  a  distance. 

Mental  suggestion  seems  equally  certain. 

Psychic  communication  between  persons  who  are  living  is 
also  proved  by  a  large  number  of  cases  that  have  been  ob- 
served and  here  reported.     There  are   psychic   currents  as  i 
well  as  aerial  electric  and  magnetic  currents,  etc.  /' 

The  abundance  of  recent  and  contemporary  testimony  has 
prevented  our  quoting  ancient  narratives,  which  are  also  very 
numerous,  many  of  which  have  all  the  marks  of  unquestion- 
able authenticity.  Perhaps  we  may  give  them  some  day  with 
all  their  interesting  details.  Let  us  now  only  refer  to  the 
principal  ones. 

Telepathy  held  a  foremost  place  in  ancient  literature.    The 

477 


THE    UNKNOWN 

works  of  Homer,  Euripides,  Ovid,  Virgil,  and  Cicero,  often 
bring  forward  cases  of  manifestations  from  the  dying  and  the 
dead,  apparitions,  evocations,  and  the  fulfilment  of  premon- 
itory dreams. 

One  of  the  most  ancient  records  of  this  kind  is  that  in  the 
Bible,  in  the  Book  of  Samuel.  King  Saul  consulted  the 
pythoness  of  Endor,  and  beheld  before  him  the  phantom  of 
the  Prophet  Samuel.  If  this  account  is  an  unreal  tale 
(which  is  not  demonstrated),  it  at  least  indicates  what  pop- 
ular belief  was  in  those  remote  periods. 

We  read  in  Plutarch  the  tragic  story  of  the  death  of  Julius 
Caesar,  and  the  premonitory  dream  of  his  wife,  Calpurnia, 
who  did  all  she  could  to  prevent  him  from  going  to  the  Sen- 
ate House.  It  seems,  in  reading  this  account,  as  if  we  could 
hear  the  voice  of  Destiny,  and  there  were  also  singular  pre- 
monitory warnings  when  the  windows  in  Caesar's  chamber 
were  unclosed,  analogous  to  the  accounts  we  have  just 
given. 

Brutus  and  Cassius  were  assuredly  men  of  a  virile  spirit, 
sceptical,  and  belonging  to  the  sect  of  the  Epicureans.  Read 
also  in  Plutarch  what  he  says  about  the  appearance  of  a  phan- 
tom to  Brutus  in  his  tent,  which  promised  to  meet  him  again 
on  the  plain  of  Philippi,  where  he  was  to  find  his  death. 

If  Julius  Caesar  had  been  less  sceptical  on  the  subject  of 
dreams,  he  would,  perhaps,  have  listened  to  the  entreaties  of 
his  wife.  Augustus  was  better  inspired  at  the  battle  of 
Philippi.  The  dream  of  one  of  his  friends  induced  him, 
though  he  was  ill,  to  leave  his  tent.  His  camp  was  taken, 
and  the  bed  on  which  he  had  lain  was  pierced  by  swords. 
(Suetonius,  Augustus  XCI.) 

Cicero  tells  in  his  book  on  Divination,  how  the  ghost  of 
Tiberius  Gracchus  appeared  to  his  brother  ;  also  the  dream  of 
Simonides,  in  which  a  shade  rewarded  him  for  having  buried 
its  corpse ;  there  is  also  the  story  of  the  voyager  in  the 
Megara,  which  I  have  related  in  Uranie  (p.  193). 

Valerius  Maximus  also  relates  (vii.,  §  ii.,  8)  the  premonitory 
dream  of  Aterius  Rufus,  present  at  a  combat  of  gladiators 
when  he  was   killed  by  a  retiaire,  whom  he  had   seen  in  a 

478 


CONCLUSION 

dream  the  night  before,  at  the  very  moment  when  he  was  re- 
lating  this  dream  to  his  friends. 

Bead  also  in  the  same  writer  of  the  premonitory  dream  of 
Croesus,  in  which  he  saw  his  son  Athys  killed  by  a  murderous 
brand,  when  he  had  endeavored  to  guard  him  from  all  dan- 
gers, and  had  confided  him  to  the  care  of  a  man  who  killed 
him  in  a  wild  boar  hunt  (vii.,  §  ii.,  4). 

Pliny  the  Younger  relates  in  his  letters  (book  vii.)  the 
story  of  a  haunted  house  at  Athens,  and  of  a  spectre  who  re- 
claimed his  burial  place. 

Vopiscus  mentions  a  prediction  made  by  a  Druid  priestess 
to  Diocletian,  in  reference  to  his  future  destiny. 

Gregory  of  Tours  afiirms  that  on  the  day  of  the  death  of 
St.  Martin  of  Tours  (in  the  year  400)  St.  Ambrose,  Bishop 
of  Milan,  saw  and  conversed  with  the  dying  man  while  in  a 
state  of  unconsciousness.  We  know  that  the  same  thing  hap- 
pened in  the  last  century  with  Saint  Alphonsus  de  Liguori, 
at  the  death  of  Pope  Clement  XIV.  {Stella,  p.  75).  These 
examples  are  not  very  rare  in  the  lives  of  saints. 

Petrarch,  in  1348,  saw  his  beloved  Laura  appear  to  him  in 
a  dream  the  day  that  she  drew  her  last  breath,  and  in  remem- 
brance of  this  event  wrote  a  beautiful  poem  ("  The  Triumph 
of  Death"). 

Pope  Pius  IL  (Eneas  Sylvius)  relates  in  his  History  of  Bo- 
hemia, how  Charles,  son  of  John,  King  of  Bohemia,  who  was 
afterwards  the  Emperor  Charles  IV.,  was  told  in  a  dream  of 
the  death  of  the  Dauphin  (August,  26th,  1336).  [I  owe  my 
knowledge  of  this  story  to  M.  Mourrel  de  Monestier,  who  also 
made  me  acquainted  with  the  apparition  of  a  dying  person 
described  by  Nicolas  Charrier,  Advocate  in  the  Parliament  of 
Grenoble  in  the  seventeenth  century.] 

Jeanne  d'Arc  predicted  her  own  death. 

It  had  been  predicted  to  Catherine  de  Medici  that  her 
three  sons  should  be  kings. 

Agrippa  d'Aubigne  mentions  the  apparition  of  the  Cardinal 
de  Lorraine,  on  the  day  and  at  the  hour  of  his  death,  to 
Catherine  de  Medici. 

'     Jean  Stceffler,  an  astrologer  (1472-1530),  announced  the 

479 


THE    UNKNOWN 

date  of  his  own  death,  and  how  he  should  die  (by  the  fall  of 
something  on  his  head). 

Frangois  de  Belleforest,  author  of  Histoires  prodigieuses 
(1578),  relates  that  his  father  appeared  to  him  in  a  garden  at 
the  very  moment  he  died,  though  he  did  not  even  know  that 
he  was  ill. 

Montluc  tells  us,  in  his  Commentaires,  of  a  curious  dream 
which  showed  him,  in  the  night  before  the  event,  the  death 
of  King  Henri  II.,  who  was  pierced  by  a  lance,  in  a  tourna- 
ment, by  Montgomery  (June  30,  1559).  This  fact  has  been 
recently  recalled  to  my  mind  by  Madame  Villeneuve  de  Nerac. 

Marguerite  d'Angouleme,  in  her  convent  at  Tnsson  (Cha- 
rente),  heard  herself  called  by  her  brother,  Francis  I.,  at  the 
moment  when  he  was  dying  at  Rambouillet. 

Sully  quotes,  in  his  Memoirs  (vii.,  383),  the  following  pre- 
sentiments from  the  mouth  of  Henri  IV. :  "  They  told  me 
that  I  should  be  killed  on  the  first  magnificent  public  appear- 
ance I  made,  and  that  I  should  die  in  a  coach ;  and  that  is 
what  makes  me  so  timid.  If  we  could  only  avoid  having  this 
cursed  coronation  !" 

David  Fabricius,  a  German  astronomer,  to  whom  we  owe 
the  discovery  of  the  famous  variable  star,  Mira  Ceti,  pre- 
dicted that  he  should  die  May  7,  1617.  He  took  every  pre- 
caution to  avert  his  fate,  and  all  day  would  not  leave  his 
chamber.  At  last,  at  ten  o'clock  at  night,  he  went  out  for  a 
little  air,  and  a  peasant  killed  him  with  a  pitchfork. 

The  Abbe  de  St.  Pierre  (1658-1743)  tells  us  that  the  Abbe 
Bezuel  saw  his  comrade,  Desfontaines,  dead  and  drowned 
the  night  before,  and  talked  with  him  for  some  time. 

Charles  Nodier  relates  (Jea7i  Francois  des  Bas-BUus)  that 
on  October  16,  1793,  the  young  man  known  by  that  name  at 
BesanQon  told  of  the  execution  of  Marie  Antoinette,  to  the 
great  stupefaction  of  his  hearers. 

(I  do  not  mention  the  prediction  of  Cazotte,  because  there 
is  reason  to  think  it  may  be  a  story  arranged  by  Laharpe). 

Gratien  de  Semur  tells,  in  his  critical  treatise  on  Des  Er- 
reurs  et  des  pr^juges,  that  a  friend  of  his  family,  Madame 
Saulce,  wife  of  a  rich  colonist  at  Saint  Domingo,  cried  one 

480 


CONCLUSION 

day  at  a  card-party,  "M.  de  Saulce  is  dead  !^^  and  fell  back- 
ward.   That  very  day  her  husband  was  murdered  by  his  negroes. 

We  have  briefly  recapitulated  the  principal  stories  of  this 
kind  told  by  the  ancients,  to  show  that  such  things  do  not 
date  from  to-day.  We  venture  to  hope  that  when  they  come 
to  be  studied  scientifically  they  may  pass  out  of  the  shadowy 
domain  of  legend  and  superstition. 

Space  fails  us  to  analyze  in  detail  every  one  of  the  exam- 
ples we  have  given  in'  this  volume,  and  to  establish,  even 
from  this  moment,  that  there  are  very  many  causes  for  these 
phenomena.  We  wished  first  of  all  to  prove  that  there 
really  are  manifestations  from  the  dying,  psychic  action 
from  a  distance,  mental  communications,  and  a  knowledge  of 
things  by  the  mind  without  the  intervention  of  the  senses. 

We  may  see  without  eyes  and  hear  without  ears,  not  by  un- 
natural excitement  of  our  sense  of  vision  or  of  hearing,  for 
these  accounts  prove  the  contrary,  but  by  some  interior  sense, 
psychic  and  mental. 

The  soul,  by  its  interior  vision,  may  see  not  only  what  is 
passing  at  a  great  distance,  but  it  may  also  know  in  advance 
what  is  to  happen  in  the  future.  The  future  exists  potentially, 
determined  by  causes  which  bring  to  pass  successive  events. 

Positive  observation^  proves  the  existence  of  a 
PSYCHIC  WORLD,  as  real  as  the  world  known  to  our  physical 
senses. 

And  now,  because  the  soul  acts  at  a  distance  by  some  power 
that  belongs  to  it,  are  we  authorized  to  conclude  that  it  ex- 
ists as  something  real,  and  that  it  is  not  the  result  of  functions 
of  the  brain  ? 

Does  light  really  exist  ? 

Does  heat  exist  ? 

Does  sound  exist  ? 

No. 

They  are  only  manifestations  produced  by  movement. 

What  we  call  light,  is  a  sensation  produced  upon  our  optic 
nerve  by  the  vibrations  of  ether  comprised  between  400  and 
756  trillions  per  second,  undulations  that  are  themselves  very 
obscure. 

2h  481 


THE    UNKNOWN 

What  we  call  heat  is  a  sensation  produced  by  vibrations  be- 
tween 350  and  600  trillions. 

The  snn  lights  up  space,  as  mnch  at  midnight  as  at  mid- 
day.     Its  temperature  is  nearly  270  degrees  below  zero. 

What  we  call  sound  is  a  sensation  produced  upon  our  audi- 
tory nerve  by  silent  vibrations  of  the  air,  themselves  com- 
prised between  32,000  and  36,000  a  second. 

Does  electricity  exist,  or  is  it  also  another  mode  of  move- 
ment? Science  must  discover  this  in  the  future.  (It  is 
probable  that  it  exists  as  a  real  entity.) 

The  word  attraction  was  employed  by  Newton  only  to  repre- 
sent the  manner  in  which  celestial  bodies  move  in  space. 
''Things  pass,"  he  said,  ''as  if  these  bodies  attract  each 
other."  What  the  essence,  the  nature,  of  this  apparent  force 
may  be  we  do  not  know. 

Very  many  scientific  terms  represent  only  results,  not  causes. 

The  soul  may  be  in  the  same  case. 

The  observations  given  in  this  work,  the  sensations,  the  im- 
pressions, the  visions,  things  heard,  etc.,  may  indicate  ^%si- 
cal  effects  produced  without  the  brain. 

Yes,  no  doubt,  but  it  does  not  seem  so. 

Let  us  examine  one  instance. 

Turn  back  to  page  156. 

A  young  woman,  adored  by  her  husband,  died  at  Moscow. 
Her  father-in-law  atPulkowo,  near  St.  Petersburg,  saw  her  that 
same  hour  by  his  side.  She  walked  with  him  along  the  street; 
then  she  disappeared.  Surprised,  startled,  and  terrified,  he 
telegraphed  to  his  son,  and  learned  both  the  sickness  and  the 
death  of  his  daughter-in-law. 

We  are  absolutely  obliged  to  admit  that  "something"  ema- 
nated from  the  dying  woman  and  touched  her  father-in-law. 
This  "thing  unknown"  may  have  been  an  ethereal  move- 
ment, as  in  the  case  of  light,  and  may  have  been  only  an  ef- 
fect, a  product,  a  result ;  but  this  effect  must  have  had  a 
cause,  and  this  cause  evidently  proceeded  from  the  woman 
who  was  dying.  Can  the  constitution  of  the  brain  explain  this 
projection  ?  I  do  not  think  that  any  anatomist  or  physiolo- 
gist will  give  this  question  an  afl&rmative  answer.     One  feels 

482 


CONCLUSION 

that  there  is  a  force  unknown,  proceeding,  not  from  our physL 
cal  organization,  but  from  that  in  us  wMch  can  thinh. 

Take  another  example  (see  page  57). 

A  lady  in  her  own  house  hears  a  voice  singing.  It  is  the 
voice  of  a  friend  now  in  a  convent,  and  she  faints  because  she 
is  sure  it  is  the  voice  of  the  dead!  At  the  same  moment  that 
friend  does  really  die,  twenty  miles  away  from  her. 

Does  not  this  give  us  the  impression  that  one  soul  holds 
communication  with  another  ? 

Here  is  another  example  (page  163). 

The  wife  of  a  captain  who  has  gone  out  to  the  Indian  mu- 
tiny sees  one  night  her  husband  standing  before  her,  with  his 
hands  pressed  to  his  breast,  and  a  look  of  suffering  on  his  face. 
The  agitation  that  she  feels  convinces  her  that  he  is  either 
killed  or  badly  wounded.  It  was  November  14th.  The  War 
OflQce  subsequently  publishes  his  death  as  having  taken  place 
on  November  15th.  She  endeavors  to  have  the  true  date  as- 
certained.   The  War  Office  was  wrong.    He  died  on  the  14th. 

A  child  six  years  old  stops  in  the  middle  of  his  play  and 
cries  out,  frightened  :  ^*  Mamma  !  I  have  seen  Mamma  !"  At 
that  moment  his  mother  was  dying  far  away  from  him  (page 
124). 

A  young  girl  at  a  ball  stops  short  in  the  middle  of  a  dance, 
and  cries,  bursting  into  tears:  "My  father  is  dead  !  I  have 
just  seen  him  !"  At  that  moment  her  father  died.  She  did 
not  even  know  he  was  ill  (p.  113). 

All  these  things  present  themselves  to  us  as  indicating, 
not  physiological  operations  of  one  brain  acting  on  another, 
but  psychic  actions  of  spirit  upon  spirit.  We  feel  that  they 
indicate  to  us  some  power  unknown. 

No  doubt  it  is  difficult  to  apportion  what  belongs  to  the 
spirit,  the  soul,  and  what  belongs  to  the  brain.  We  can 
only  let  ourselves  be  guided  in  our  judgment  and  our  appre- 
ciations by  the  same  feeling  that  is  created  in  us  by  the  dis- 
cussion of  phenomena.  This  is  how  all  sciences  have  been 
started.  Well!  and  does  not  every  one  feel  that  we  have  here 
to  do  with  manifestations  from  beings  capable  of  thought, 
and  not  only  with  material  physiological  facts  ? 

483 


THE    UNKNOWN 

This  impression  is  superabundantly  confirmed  by  investiga- 
tion concerning  the  unknown  faculties  of  the  soul,  when 
active  in  dreams  and  somnambulism. 

A  brother  learns  the  death  of  his  young  sister  by  a  terrible 
nightmare  (p.  372). 

A  gentleman  dreams  he  saw  a  young  girl  whom  he  does 
not  know  falling  out  of  a  window  (p.  384). 

A  young  girl  sees  beforehand,  in  a  dream,  the  man  whom 
she  will  marry  (p.  427). 

A  mother  sees  her  child  lying  in  a  road  covered  with  blood 
(p.  391). 

A  lady  goes,  in  a  dream,  to  visit  her  husband  on  a  distant 
steamer,  and  her  husband  really  receives  this  visit,  which  is 
seen  by  a  third  person  (p.  404). 

A  magnetized  lady  sees  and  describes  the  interior  of  the 
body  of  her  dying  mother;  what  she  said  is  confirmed  by  the 
autopsy  (p.  412). 

A  gentleman  sees,  in  a  dream,  a  lady  whom  he  knows  arriv- 
ing at  night  in  a  railroad  station,  her  journey  having  been 
undertaken  suddenly  (p.  425). 

A  magistrate  sees  three  years  in  advance  the  commission 
of  a  crime,  down  to  its  smallest  details  (p.  429). 

Several  persons  report  that  they  have  seen  towns  and  land- 
scapes before  they  ever  visited  them,  and  have  seen  them- 
selves in  situations  in  which  they  found  themselves  long 
after  (pp.  436-445). 

A  mother  hears  her  daughter  announce  her  intended  mar- 
riage six  months  before  it  has  been  thought  of  (p.  449). 

Frequent  cases  of  death  are  foretold  with  precision. 

A  theft  is  seen  by  a  somnambulist,  and  the  execution  of 
the  criminal  is  foretold  (p.  468). 

A  young  girl  sees  her  fiance,  or  an  intimate  friend  dying 
(these  are  frequent  cases),  etc. 

All  these  show  unknown  faculties  in  the  soul.  Such  at 
least  is  my  own  impression.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  cannot 
reasonably  attribute  the  prevision  of  the  future  and  mental 
sight  to  a  nervous  action  of  the  brain. 

I  think  we  must  either  deny  these  facts   or  admit  that 

484 


CONCLUSION 

they  must  have  had  an  intellectual  and  spiritual  cause  of  the 
psychic  order,  and  I  recommend  sceptics  who,  not  choosing 
to  be  convinced,  to  deny  them  outright,  to  treat  them  as 
illusions  and  cases  of  a  fortuitous  coincidence  of  circum- 
stances. They  will  find  this  easier.  Uncompromising  de- 
niers  of  facts,  rebels  against  evidence,  may  be  all  the  more 
positive,  and  may  declare  that  the  writers  of  these  extraordin- 
ary narratives  are  persons  fond  of  a  joke,  who  have  written 
them  to  hoax  me,  and  that  there  have  been  persons  in  all 
ages  who  have  done  the  same  thing  to  mystify  thinkers  who 
have  taken  up  such  questions. 

These  phenomena  prove,  I  think,  that  the  soul  exists,  and 
that  it  is  endowed  with  faculties  at  present  unknown.  That 
is  the  logical  way  of  commencing  our  study,  which  in  the 
end  may  lead  us  to  the  problem  of  the  after-life  and  immor- 
tality. A  thought  can  be  transmitted  to  the  mind  of  an- 
other. There  are  mental  transmissions,  communications  of 
tlioughts,  and  psychic  currents  between  human  souls.  Space 
appears  to  be  no  obstacle  in  these  cases,  and  time  sometimes 
seems  to  be  annihilated. 

(While  comparatively  rare,  and  not  commonplace,  like  the 
ordinary  events  of  daily  life,  these  cases  are  much  more 
numerous  and  more  frequent  than  people,  up  to  this  time, 
have  supposed.  "^  We  have  seen  that  the  inquiry  I  opened  in 
the  month  of  March,  1899,  brought  me  1130  answers.  If  we 
add  those  I  have  received  since  this  volume  went  to  press, 
there  will  be  more  than  1200.  My  readers  will  have  been 
able  to  judge  and  appreciate  in  this  first  volume  186  cases  of 
manifestations  from  the  dying,  received  by  persons  awake ;  70 
cases  received  during  sleep ;  57  observations  or  experiences  of 
transmission  of  thought  without  any  intervention  of  sight, 
hearing,  or  touch  ;  49  examples  of  sight  at  a  distance,  in 
dreams  or  in  somnambulism  ;  74  premonitory  dreams  and 
predictions  of  the  future ;  in  all  436  phenomena  of  the 
psychic  order,  indicating  the  existence  of  forces  as  yet  un- 
known, acting  on  thinking  beings,  and  putting  them  in 
latent  communication  with  each  other.  (I  have  already 
probably  as  many  more  of  the  same  kind.)     Makiug  all  pos- 

485 


THE    UNKNOWN 

sible  allowance  for  variations  and  lapses  in  memory,  and  for 
the  imagination  of  the  narrators,  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel 
the  sincerity  of  these  witnesses,  and  not  to  recognize  at  the 
bottom  their  essential  veracity  in  what  they  have  reported. 
Besides  this,  some  of  the  observations  and  some  of  the  ex- 
periences have  been  related  with  such  care  as  not  to  leave  any 
loophole  for  mistake,  that  they  have  in  themselves  a  char- 
acter of  scientific  authenticity  the  most  absolute  and  well- 
confirmed.  Assuredly  here  are  witnesses  who  have  a  right  to 
complain  of  the  scepticism  of  those  who,  having  made  up 
their  minds  beforehand,  simply  deny  everything ;  these  facts 
should  reduce  such  people  to  a  last  extremity.  And  now 
that  public  attention  has  been  called  to  this  class  of  facts, 
many  more  may  be  recorded  that  have  hitherto  passed  un- 
noticed, or  have  been  considered  of  no  value.  In  astronomy, 
as  soon  as  new  stars  are  discovered,  all  the  world  can  see 
them. 

These  investigations  have  made  a  much  larger  volume  than 
I  intended  to  write.  But  more  confined  space  would  have 
obliged  me  to  make  many  condensations,  restrictions,  and 
suppressions,  so  that  our  knowledge  of  the  subject  would 
have  been  much  less,  when  naturally  a  larger  development  of 
it  was  required.  To  have  been  too  incomplete  would  have 
enabled  me  to  prove  nothing.  I  prepared  to  treat  fully  and 
methodically  the  subjects  we  had  to  study,  instead  of  touch- 
ing superficially  on  a  much  greater  number.  In  matters  of 
this  kind  we  need  an  accumulation  of  convincing  truths,  tes- 
timony that  is  incontestibly  true,  abundant,  and  well  sup- 
ported. What  was  most  important  in  the  first  place  was  to 
prove  that  the  existence  of  psychic  forces  can  transmit 
thoughts  and  impressions  to  human  beings  at  a  distance, 
without  the  intervention  of  the  senses.  I  hope  that  this 
demonstration  is  now  made  for  every  sincere,  enlightened 
mind  capable  of  free  thought. 

The  course  of  these  researches  may  lead  us  to  examine  the 
phenomena  of  spiritualism  and  mediumism,  those  of  som- 
nambulism, magnetism,  and  hypnotism ;  the  knowledge  of 
remote  facts  and  of  the  future  seen  in  dreams,  presentiments ; 

486 


CONCLUSION 

the  "  doubles  "  of  some  living  persons  ;  apparitions  and  man- 
ifestations from  the  dead  ;  haunted  houses ;  movements  of 
objects  without  these  being  touched ;  sorcery,  magic,  etc., 
etc.  From  this  time  forth,  setting  aside  superstitions,  errors, 
hoaxes,  and  base  deceptions,  we  must  acknowledge  that 
there  remain  psychic  facts  worthy  of  the  attention  of  those 
who  would  examine  them.  We  have  entered  into  an  in- 
vestigation of  a  world  as  ancient  as  the  human  race,  but  at 
present  very  new  to  experimental  science,  which  has  not 
until  recently  occupied  men's  minds,  but  has  now  created 
simultaneously  an  interest  for  itself  in  all  countries. 

Such  is  my  programme  of  study,  and  I  should  like  to  carry 
it  out  to  the  end,  if  the  time  indispensable  to  the  work 
should  be  allowed  me.  But  on  the  one  hand  it  is  prudent 
not  to  give  one's  self  up  exclusively  to  occult  subjects,  for  one 
might  soon  lose  the  independence  of  mind  necessary  to  form 
an  impartial  judgment.  It  is  better  to  look  upon  such 
studies  as  not  one's  main  object  in  life,  but  as  recreation  of  a 
superior  order,  most  curious  and  interesting.  These  are 
foods  and  drinks  which  it  is  most  wholesome  to  take  only  in 
small  quantities.  On  the  other  hand,  our  earth  turns  very 
fast,  and  days  pass  away  like  dreams.  I  hope,  nevertheless, 
to  give  myself  the  scientific  pleasure  of  studying  a  por- 
tion of  these  mysteries,  and  perhaps  what  one  man  can- 
not do  may  be  done  by  others.  Every  one  may  bring  his 
little  stone  to  assist  in  the  construction  of  a  future  pyr- 
amid. 

Every  author  is  in  charge  of  souls.  We  ought  only  to  tell 
what  we  know.  Perhaps  we  ought  not  always  to  tell  all  we 
do  know  ;  but  even  in  our  every-day  life  we  ought  never  to 
tell  what  we  do  not  know. 

Then  let  us  lay  up  knowledge,  let  us  work  and  hope.  This 
collection  of  psychic  facts  shows  us  that  we  live  in  the  midst 
of  an  invisible  world,  in  which  forces  are  at  work  of  which 
we  know  very  little,  and  this  agrees  with  what  we  know 
about  the  limitation  of  our  earthly  senses,  and  the  phenom- 
ena of  nature.  It  is  precisely  because  of  this  state  of  things 
that  I  have  given  to  this  work  its  title.  The  Unknown-. 

48'? 


THE    UNKNOWN 

Let  us  repeat  with  Sliakespeare  the  words  that  we  have 
chosen  as  the  motto  for  one  of  these  chapters ; 

"  There  are  more  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  Horatio, 
Than  are  dreamt  of  in  your  philosophy." 

And  let  ns  also  say  with  Lamartine,  when  speaking  of  astro- 
nomical philosophy : 

"  La  vie  est  iin  degre  de  I'echelle  des  mondes 
Que  nous  devons  frauchir  pour  arriver  ailleurs." 


i'BS   END 


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